Swahili Grammar and Workbook - ROULEDGE - FIDELE

Swahili Grammar and Workbook

“Swahili Grammar and Workbook provides an in-depth, up-to-date student guide to modern Swahili grammar. The major aspects of Swahili grammar are explained clearly and illustrated with ample examples and exercises, and are arranged around distinct user-oriented grammar topics. The book fills an important gap in the Swahili linguistic literature and will be of great value to students of Swahili at different levels of proficiency.” Lutz Marten, SOAS, University of London, UK Swahili Grammar and Workbook provides a practical and comprehensive companion to Swahili grammar, filling in gaps left by other textbooks. Presenting the essentials of Swahili grammar in a highly accessible fashion, it reduces complex language topics to helpful rules and mnemonic aids, enabling maximum grammar retention and accurate usage. Grammar points are followed by multiple examples and exercises, allowing students to consolidate and practice their learning. No prior knowledge of linguistic terminology is required. Key features include: •

• • • •

Twenty-five language notes covering key topics such as: personal pronouns; the Swahili noun class system; special class combinations; the imperative, the subjunctive, and the conditional moods; the use of comparatives; the use of monosyllabic verbs; the passive form and various other forms of verb extensions; the relative clause; clear, detailed, and jargon-free grammatical explanations supported by an assortment of helpful diagrams, figures, and tables and many relevant and up-to-date examples; a wide range of communication-oriented exercises to reinforce learning and develop students’ ability to use Swahili actively; audio files to support pronunciation practice, clearly linked to relevant sections of the book and available for free download at www.routledge.com/9781138808263 four appendices, Swahili–English and English–Swahili vocabulary lists, a list of references and an index presented at the back of the book for easy access to information.

Written by a highly experienced instructor, Swahili Grammar and Workbook will be an essential resource for all students and teachers of Swahili. It is suitable for use both as a companion reference text in language courses and as a standalone text in independent grammar classes. Fidèle Mpiranya is Lecturer in Swahili and African Linguistics at the University of Chicago, USA.

This page intentionally left blank

Swahili Grammar and Workbook

Fidèle Mpiranya

First published 2015 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 Fidèle Mpiranya The right of Fidèle Mpiranya to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Mpiranya, Fidèle, author. Swahili grammar and workbook / Fidèle Mpiranya. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Swahili language–Grammar. I. Title. PL8702.M624 2014 496.392–dc23 2014015471 ISBN: 978-1-138-80825-6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-80826-3 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-75069-9 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong

To my daughter Mélyse, with love

This page intentionally left blank

Contents

List of illustrations Acknowledgments Abbreviations and conventional signs Introduction

ix xi xii 1

1 Swahili – key elements

3

2 Using basic vocabulary and markers

9

3 Personal pronouns

13

4 Swahili noun class system

19

5 Noun/adjective and pronoun agreement

29

6 The indicative mood and main verb tenses

40

7 Verb “be”/“have” in the main clause

50

8 Special class combinations and the reflexive pronoun

56

9 Prefix/stem contact rules vs. invariable adjectives/pronouns

61

10 Relative clauses and the use of reference pronouns

70

11 Imperative and subjunctive moods

83

12 Monosyllabic verb stems and the stem augment ku-

94

13 Auxiliary verbs and the expression of complex tenses

101

14 Expressing comparison

107

viii Contents

15 The passive form of the verb

110

16 Locative agreement and coordinated noun agreement

116

17 The conditional mood

127

18 The causative extension of the verb

133

19 Reciprocal, stative, and applicative verb extensions

142

20 Adverbs in a broad sense

151

21 Adjectives in a broad sense

163

22 Noun formation and augmentative/diminutive processes

174

23 Reduced forms and special uses of various pronouns

186

24 Subjunctive vs. infinitive/indicative in coordinated and subordinate clauses

191

25 Double object constructions and the use of “object markers”

202

Appendix A: Greetings and other polite expressions Appendix B: Class agreements with all types of adjectives and pronouns Appendix C: Clause connectors and other transition words Appendix D: Use of verb tenses in Swahili proverbs

215

Vocabulary list References Index

233 246 248

219 220 229

List of illustrations

Maps 1.1 1.2

Swahili-speaking regions in East and Central Africa The Swahili Coast and neighboring places of the Indian Ocean Basin

3 4

Figures 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 7.1 9.1

Place of articulation for the Swahili sounds /j/ [ɟ] and /y/ Place of articulation for the English sound /j/ [dʒ] and Swahili /nj/ [ndʒ] Place of articulation for /gh/ and /g/ Place and manner of articulation for /ng’/ [ŋ] vs. /ng/ [ŋg] Distribution of locative reference pronouns in Swahili Main phonetic features of Swahili vowels

6 6 7 7 51 61

Tables 1.1 2.1 3.1 3.2 3.3 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 6.1 6.2 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 8.1 9.1

Swahili consonants illustrated Verb tenses markers in the indicative mood (affirmative form) Swahili personal pronouns Noun/possessive agreement in nouns for animates Noun/possessive agreement in nouns for non-animates Noun types and noun class assignment Model sentences for Swahili noun classes Noun/adjective prefixes vs. pronominal prefixes Noun determiners according to their agreement prefixes (listed in Table 5.1) The demonstrative pronouns in different classes Harmony between the hV- segment and the vowel of the following class prefix Normal word order within a noun group The indicative tense markers in affirmative form Tense markers of the indicative in negative form Verb “be” in different tenses of the indicative mood Present tense of locative verb “be” Locative prepositions and corresponding forms of the locative verb “be” Verb “have” in all tenses of the indicative mood (affirmative/negative) Model sentences for the classes [mu-u/ma-ya] and [mu-u/n-zi] The nominal prefix in class [n-i/n-zi] according to the following consonant or vowel

5 11 13 16 16 22 23 29 30 33 33 36 40 42 50 51 52 54 56 65

x

List of illustrations

10.1 Reference pronouns/relative markers in different classes 10.2 Form and contextual restrictions on different relative clause patterns 10.3 The conjunction na “and/with” with the contrastive pronouns of first and second persons 11.1 Basic markers of the subjunctive 11.2 Imperative vs. subjunctive markers 11.3 “Polite” vs. “direct” imperative 12.1 Form of the tense/mood marker and absence of the stem augment ku16.1 Use of locative agreement patterns 16.2 The locative demonstrative pronoun in terms of proximity 16.3 Conjunction na with locative reference pronouns 19.1 Typical suffix combinations 21.1 Color terms using the pattern “conjunction -a + noun” 23.1 Contraction between possessive pronouns and personal relationship nouns

70 74 79 85 85 91 96 116 119 119 148 165 187

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Michael Pierson for editing an early version of my manuscript, and to Matthew Knisley for revising the final version. I also owe a debt of gratitude to my students, past and present, for their substantial feedback and suggestions about successive versions of this textbook. Comments from three anonymous reviewers also have helped in improving the content and the form of this text, and I am very thankful for that. The data in this text are drawn from my own experience as a near-native speaker of Swahili. They have been double-checked by Innocent Basso, a native speaker born and raised in Tanga, Tanzania. Innocent also lent his voice for the audio materials provided online. I am very grateful to him for his important contributions. This book project would have been more difficult without the encouragement and the support of Larry Hyman, Salikoko Mufwene, Aimable Twagilimana, and Rachel Walker. I am thankful for their guidance and their friendship. Finally, I express my gratitude to Helle V. Goldman and Philip Carr for allowing me to reproduce a map and phonetic diagrams from their respective works. Many thanks also to Wiley-Blackwell, Philip Carr’s publisher.

Maps and figures credits Map 1.1: Adapted from CIA. 2013. The World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency. Public domain. www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ docs/contributor_copyright.html Map 1.2: Adapted from Goldman, Helle Valborg. 1996. “A Comparative Study of Swahili in Two Rural Communities in Pemba, Zanzibar, Tanzania”. Ph.D. thesis, New York University. Reproduced with permission from the author. Figures 1.1–1.4: Adapted from Carr, Philip. 1999. English Phonetics and Phonology. Oxford: Blackwell. Reproduced with permission from the author and the publisher.

Abbreviations and conventional signs

- : word part preceded/followed by another ~ : variant; roughly similar ø : zero, i.e. no prefix : additional material available online @ : more or less * : hypothetical; reconstructed form → : gives ↔ : vice versa > : becomes # : word end adj.: adjective affirm.: affirmative anim.: animate C: consonant cl.: class colloq.: colloquial concr.: concrete cons.: consonant CV: consonant and vowel demons.: demonstrative pronoun emph.: emphatic fig.: figurative fut.: future idiom.: idiomatic

infin.: infinitive intr.: intransitive lit.: literally loc.: locative neg.: negative nomin.: nominal non-anim.: non-animate non-sonor.: non-sonorous noun gr.: noun group obj.: object obsol.: obsolete pers.: person pl.: plural pres.: present pron.: pronoun pronom.: pronominal ref. pron.: reference pronoun rel.: relative pronoun/clause sb.: somebody sg.: singular sth.: something subj.: subject subjunct.: subjunctive V: vowel

Introduction

Though communicative approaches in language teaching must have primacy over grammatical instruction, students of foreign languages often demand clear explanations of what sometimes appear to them as “unusual” phenomena, and seek simple ways to approach masses of new grammatical information. Experience shows that students who are familiar with grammatical rules better grasp the structures of the language and are, therefore, more able to reuse these rules accurately and innovatively. There are communication textbooks with linguistic explanations, but they often appear incomplete. This is especially true for Swahili communication textbooks produced in both the USA and Europe in recent years. Though some of these textbooks have been authored by linguists and do include elements of linguistic explanation, they generally do not address in detail fundamental issues such as noun class agreements, the use of verb moods, or phonetic irregularities. Fortunately, there exist various reference grammars that may provide the learner with broader linguistic information, such as Ashton (1944), Polomé (1967), Wilson (1970), Mohamed (2001), or Thompson and Schleicher (2006). However, these reference grammars are generally not organized in a way that they can be used step-by-step with a communication textbook. The present text supplements communication textbooks with comprehensive linguistic explanations and practical exercises. Rather than full chapters, it is comprised of 25 relatively short and progressively organized “language notes” that address the most common questions among students of Swahili as a foreign language. This textbook strives to show that the core system of the Swahili language is simple and well-organized. In particular, it departs from traditional approaches that present the typical Swahili noun classes piece-by-piece, with individual noun classes in different chapters. Instead, it presents the different agreement patterns as a single system, in different layers that progressively introduce contextual variations. The presentation of different verb functions follows a similar systemic progression. The approach adopted here better follows the progressive exposure of the students to the complexities of the language, as they are introduced to diverse noun classes and verb functions from their earliest learning activities. Using the least possible amount of linguistic terminology, this text applies simple linguistic parameters to reduce complex language topics to a few simple rules that complement each other. As a result, grammar rules appear as mnemonic aids that facilitate retention and accurate application of different language patterns by the students. Such mnemonic aids also serve as a feedback tool for the teacher, allowing him or her to communicate efficiently with the students about the type of mistakes they make. For students interested in advanced interpretations, grammatical explanations are occasionally complemented with subsections that address in detail some specific language facts.

2

Introduction

Additionally, grammatical explanations are illustrated by numerous examples and communication-oriented exercises that allow the students to reinforce and consolidate their learning. While review exercises address a single topic, application exercises address the different topics covered in a given language note, and cumulative exercises integrate features from previous language notes. For interested students, an automated corrector will be available on a dedicated web page, along with audio materials for pronunciation practice (shown in the book by the symbol ). This textbook covers topics such as consonant articulation, word accent and accent groups, the interrogative intonation, and the noun classes. It also addresses other essential aspects of the morphology and syntax, such as: the use of verb tenses, moods, and auxiliary verbs; the role of phonetics in the formation of different categories of verbs, nouns, and adjectives; the relative clause construction; the formation of adjectival and adverbial phrases; the use of object markers in different types of clause constructions; the use of clause connectors; and idiomatic constructions. This text is suitable as a supplement to communication textbooks and exercise books for beginners and intermediate level students, such as Moshi (1988a, b), Hinnebusch and Mirza (1997), Mugane (1999), Senkoro (2003), Biersteker (2005), Muaka and Muaka (2006), Mohamed and Mazrui (2007), Omar and Rushubirwa (2007), or McGrath and Marten (2012). It may also serve as a reference for Swahili grammar fundamentals.

1

Swahili – key elements

1.1. The most popular language of Africa Swahili is the most widely spoken language in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is spoken by approximately 50 million people in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, eastern Congo (DRC), the Comoros, and, marginally, in northern Mozambique, southern Somalia, northern Malawi, and northern Zambia (Map 1.1). Swahili is a national language in Tanzania, Kenya, and Congo (DRC). It also has official status in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda (along with English). T ru n ^ ME™ ^TUmklA

MADEIRA ISLANDS (PORT.) .

Casablancjy^ujj^jj

ST ^Valletta

j

Tel A v iv -Y a fo b T ^ J. Baghdad B T - ^ e x a ^ r b ' S ^ ^ Amri^T~N ) Cairo ^ ( / j Q R p AN Al irz in vT %—'

TOpelTT MOR O C C Q ^ CANARYISLANDS

A L G E R I A L I B Y A

iLaayoune 1 W estern I Sptiara I

1• Aleppo r . • A Nicosia^ \icosia r ] < ^ rRL SSYRIA Y R IA JI Klr u* CYPRUS^ LEBZV y I Beirut r& ^Damascus E'aniascuf IR A Q

I *~CKIe SS'

t,

Mediterranean Sea

i AF

Ejfahin.

>

I R AN ’RLviJAIT ‘ Shiraz

SAUDI

BAHRAlht r I ManaraaJ; nanuv A Abu J f | Dohkj. Dhabi J , i"'-* Riyadh * QATAF QATAl(Vn^ D i< A s ^ . i

EGYPT

' \ 5&l uliddah

Nouakchott;

Mashhad

Tehran*

ARABIA

,a

IOMAN,

Port Sudany

MAURITANIA MALI Tomboujsou

DIQER

YEMEN

CHAD

Dal(ar*\5EriEC SENEG/ Banjul THE GAMBIA

Bamako. .yeLKm : A>Ni ameX C ' FASO S. /

Kha toum*

N A'-

S U D A N

N’ Djamena GUINEA-BISSM® GUINEA ConakryJ Freetown SIERRA . le o n e / Monrovia

Udegy— '' OulfofAde kHBOUTI^ Addis Ababa

niGERIA I COTE E \ ** Abuja ? D’IVOIRE RE JoHAIW I I • ogbomo ioukro ? J | •lbadan Yamoussou

PAULO

Equator

n \ Accral=> i»0rto- \ Novo T

^ fCAMEROOr

V

\ ANGOLAJ iCablndj; V\

[ALIA

.luba

f ' g a b o n S TliEJ

ICONGO

A a m p ala^

/Kisangani

DEMOCRATIC

[

7

I

rwAND/

REPl/BLIC

,OF T i l t C O n O O j

Kinshasa L \ __

y Lake a Tanganyika*

I I

Socotra IYEMEH)

Berbers

ETHIOPIA

CENTRAL \ AFRICAN R ErU BLIC'

Malabo. Yaounde EQUATORIAL OUIMEA^— * Oulfof Ctuinei SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE lu- > u- in subclass 11, *bʊ > wu- > uin subclass 14, vs. original pronominal prefix *ʊ- in Common Bantu subclass 3, which became u-). Subsequently, there has been an analogical alignment of the subclasses 11 and 14 to the subclass 3 for the adjective prefix. In other words, the adjective prefix u- of subclass 11 and subclass 14 was replaced with mu-, due to a comparison with the agreement pattern of subclass 3. All three agreement patterns had become identical, constituting a single subclass (see definition of the noun class/subclass in 4.1). On the other hand, the plural agreement in class [n-zi] and [ma-ya] are a direct reflection of the plural forms of the Common Bantu classes 11/10 and 14/6.

8.3. The infinitive form of the verb and the noun class [ku-ku] In some contexts, the infinitive form of the verb in Swahili corresponds to the English gerund. Like any other noun, the Swahili infinitive may serve as the subject of a conjugated verb and trigger an agreement prefix among pronouns and adjectives, as shown in (2). Accordingly, the infinitive constitutes a noun class characterized by the nominal and pronominal prefix ku-.

58

Class combinations and reflexive pronoun

(2) Use of agreement prefixes in class [ku-ku] a. b.

Kusoma kwake ni kuzuri; kunanipendeza “His manner of reading is good; it pleases me” Kufika kwenu kulitupendeza “Your arrival pleased us” (lit. “your arriving”)

In the negative form, the infinitive uses the marker -to- (e.g. kuona/kutoona “to see vs. to not see; not seeing”; kufanya/kutofanya “to do vs. to not do; not doing”).

8.4. Object pronoun in class [mu-u/ma-ya] and [mu-u/n-zi] As shown in (3) the use of the object pronoun in the classes [mu-u/ma-ya] and [mu-u/n-zi] follows the same rules as those applicable to the equivalent subclasses [mu-u], [ma-ya], and [n-zi] seen in 4.4 and 5.8 (Appendix B gives a general presentation of the use of the agreement prefixes). (3) Additional examples for the classes [mu-u/ma-ya] and [mu-u/n-zi] a.

[mu-u/ma-ya]

b.

[mu-u/n-zi]

Utete ule ninaupenda. Niliuona jana./Matete yale ninayapenda. Niliyaona jana That reed, I like it. I saw it/them yesterday/Those reeds, I like them. I saw them yesterday Ubao ule ninaupenda. Niliuona jana/Mbao zile ninazipenda. Niliziona jana That board, I like it. I saw it yesterday/Those boards, I like them. I saw them yesterday

8.5. The reflexive pronoun -jiIn addition to the simple object pronouns mentioned before, we also have the pronoun ji- “himself/herself/itself/themselves”. This type of object pronoun is called “reflexive”, because it refers to the subject of the verb, as shown in (4). Similar to other object pronouns, the vowel of the object pronoun -ji- is maintained before the stem vowel, as shown in (4b). The reflexive pronoun ji- is also used idiomatically with some verbs, as shown with the examples in (5). (4) a. b. c. d.

Mjomba wangu anajidanganya “My uncle is lying to himself” Vijana hawa wanajieleza sana “These young people have explained themselves” Nchi yetu inajitegemea kwa chakula “Our country relies on itself for food” Dada yangu amejikata kidole “My sister has cut her finger” (lit. “cut herself [on] a finger”)

Class combinations and reflexive pronoun 59 (5) Examples of idiomatic uses of the reflexive pronoun -jia. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

-jigamba -jiona -jitolea -jifungua -jiweza -jikimu -jisaidia -jituma

“brag; boast” (lit. “praise oneself”) “be arrogant/conceited” (lit. “see oneself”) “volunteer” (lit. “give oneself for”) “give birth” (lit. “open up oneself”) “be rich” (lit. “be able of oneself”) “provide for one’s need” (lit. “look after oneself”) “go to the toilet” (lit. “help oneself”) “be dedicated” (lit. “commission oneself [to do something]”)

8.6. Review exercise (6) Fill in the blanks with singular and plural sentences (keep previous sections covered). Noun, Adjective, Demonstrative, [is/are], Possessive, Verb a. b.

Unyoya ___dogo ___le ni ___angu; ___nanipendeza / . . . “That/those little feather(s) is/are mine; it/they please me” Ubao ___dogo ___le ni ___angu; ___nanipendeza / . . . “That/those little board(s) is/are mine; it/they please me”

8.7. Application exercises (7) Fill in the blanks/apply contact rules when relevant and convert into plural or singular, whenever possible (two sentences per question). Translate into English. a. b. c. d.

Ukurasa h___ (“that”) ni ___ako? Uli___anza lini? H___ (“this”) ni uonevu. Siwezi ku___kubali. Ubawa ___a ndege huyo ni ___refu na ___ pana. (“wing”) Kucheza ___ake ni ___zuri, nina___ penda sana.

(8) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e.

One key is mine; two keys are Mariam’s. Her relationship with her mother has become bad. Selma is looking at herself in a mirror. Today I have heard a nice song on the radio. Whose song is it? (+ convert into plural) This disease is serious but it can be cured (lit. “but it heals”) (+ convert into plural)

60

Class combinations and reflexive pronoun

8.8. Cumulative exercises (9)

Possessive pronouns: Fill in the blanks and translate (use each pronoun once): wenu, wetu, zao, changu, zenu, yako, letu, yangu, wake, wao, zake, yao, vyako, yao, wake, yenu. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. p.

Mariam ameleta vitabu ___________. Habari ___________, Juma? Je, umesoma kitabu ___________? Nyumba ni ndogo lakini kuta ___________ ni nene. Mikono ___________ ni mirefu sana. Mji ___________ ni mkubwa sana. Dada __________ anasoma Kiingereza. Mazoezi ___________ ni magumu sana. Mtoto ___________ anapenda kula sukari. Wimbo ___________ ni mzuri sana. Kaka ____________ wameenda wapi? Sipendi sana nyimbo ___________. Zoezi ___________ ni gumu kidogo. Ukuta ___________ ni mrefu sana. Ninapenda sana watoto ___________. Nyumba ___________ ni ndefu sana.

(10) Translate into Swahili. (Some of the nouns used here: suruali, soksi, kitu, chungwa/ machungwa, kalamu, koti/makoti, shati/mashati, and kiti. Reminder: -a nani? “whose?” [lit. “of whom?”]. Model sentence: Kitabu hiki ni cha nani? Ni chake/Ni cha Juma.) a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l.

Whose pants are these? (lit. “These pants are of whom?”) Whose shirt is this? Whose socks are these? Whose coat is this? Whose board is this? Whose houses are these? Whose book is this? Whose child is this? Whose chair is it? Whose house is it? Whose things are these? Whose oranges are these?

m. Whose dog is it? n. Is this pen yours?

They are mine. I like them at lot. It is hers. Where did you see it? They are ours. We like them a lot. It is yours. Do you like it? It is Juma’s. He is selling it. They are theirs. They are selling them. It is ours. We are selling it. He is Juma’s. He likes him a lot. It is not yours. It is mine. I am selling it. It is not mine. It is hers. Do you like it? They are Juma’s. He is selling them. They are yours. Mine is this one (lit. “is this”). Do you see it? It is mine. I am selling it. It is not mine. It is my sister’s. She likes it.

9 Prefix/stem contact rules vs. invariable adjectives/pronouns

This section summarizes sound variations specific to the contact between class prefixes and the noun and adjective stems. It also addresses special class agreement and the issue of invariable adjectives and pronouns.

9.1. Contact between prefix and stem vowels Noun prefixes and agreement prefixes use three types of vowels: /i a u/ (vowel /i/ with the subclasses [mi-i], [ki-ki], [vi-vi], [n-i], and [n-zi]; vowel /a/ with [wa-wa] and [ma-ya]; and vowel /u/ with [mu-u] and [ku-ku]). The way prefix vowels interact with the steminitial vowel depends mostly on the phonetic features of the former. CLOSED

Front

i

CLOSED

u

            

e

Rounded

o MID a

OPEN

Figure 9.1 Main phonetic features of Swahili vowels.

As seen in Figure 9.1, the vowel /a/ is called “open” because it is pronounced with a fully open mouth, unlike /i,u/, which are pronounced with a relatively closed mouth and are, therefore, called “closed”. As /e,o/ are neither “closed” nor completely “open”, they are called “mid”. In addition, the vowels /u,o/ are called “rounded”, as they are pronounced with rounded lips (see also the rounded semi-vowel /w/). The vowels /i,e/ are also called “front” because they are pronounced with the body of the tongue in the front part of the roof of the mouth, that is, in the same area used for the semi-vowel /y/ shown in Figure 1.1. The following paragraphs show how the phonetic features of prefix vowels determine the way they interact with the stem vowel. They also show how verb-derived nouns and those that naturally begin with a vowel tend to apply special rules, such as vowel sequences between the prefix and the stem, as opposed to the pronouns, adjectives, and original noun stems, which tend to trigger vowel merger or consonant change. Class prefixes composed of a single vowel generally become semi-vowels when they are connected to a non-identical stem vowel. As shown in (1a–b), the rounded vowel /u/

62

Prefix/stem contact rules vs. no prefix

gives the rounded semi-vowel /w/ before a non-identical stem vowel, while the non-rounded /i/ gives the non-rounded semi-vowel /y/. Conversely, the prefix u- is retained before a stem vowel /u/ (1c–d). (1) Bare vowel prefix + Vowel: semi-vowel formation: u- → /w/; i- → /y/ a. b. c. d.

u-imbo i-angu vs. u-undaji u-ungwana

→ wimbo “song” (subclass [mu-u]; see [n-zi] in the plural) → yangu “my; mine” (subclass [mi-i]) → uundaji “construction (act)” → uungwana “civility; courtesy; honorable behavior”

For prefixes composed of a consonant and a vowel, the prefix vowel is generally retained before an identical stem vowel within nouns and infinitive forms, as in (2a–e). Conversely, the prefix vowel generally merges with the following identical stem vowel in adjectives and pronouns (2f–h). As seen before in 1.3, double vowels generally mean that two vowels are pronounced and not one long one. (2) Identical prefix and stem vowel sequence vs. vowel merger among adjectives and pronouns a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

mi-iko mi-iba ki-ingereza ma-andazi ku-ungana vs. mi-ingi ki-ingi vi-ingi

→ → → → →

miiko “taboos” (singular: mwiko) miiba “thorns” (singular: mwiba) Kiingereza “English” maandazi “beignets” kuungana “to unite”

→ mingi “many” → kingi “a lot of” → vingi “many, a lot of”

In addition, the vowel of the prefixes mu- and wa- generally merges with identical stem vowels among non-derived nouns (3a–c), except those that may be used as adjectives (“non-derived” refers here to the nouns that do not derive from a verb). In the latter case, the prefix vowels tend to be maintained (3d–e), as they are among derived nouns (3f–g). (3) Vowel merger with mu- and wa- among non-derived nouns vs. vowel sequences a.

mu-ume

b. c.

wa-alimu mu-ungu

d. e. f. g.

vs. mu-ungwana wa-arabu mu-ungano wa-andishi

→ mume “husband” (mu-yu,a; see wa-ume → waume “husbands”) → walimu “teachers” (wa-wa) → mungu “god; idol” (mu-u; see mi-ungu → miungu “gods; idols”) → → → →

muungwana “gentleman; honorable (person)” (adjectival) waarabu “Arabs; Arabian (people)” (adjectival) muungano “union” (from kuungana “unite”) waandishi “writers” (from kuandika “write”)

Prefix/stem contact rules vs. no prefix 63 Before a non-identical stem vowel, the prefix vowel /i/ is generally retained (4a–g). However, it becomes the semi-vowel /y/ in adjectives as shown in (4f–h). (4) Prefix vowel /i/ + Vowel: vowel sequence (nouns) vs. semi-vowel formation (adjectives) a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

mi-embe mi-ezi mi-aka mi-oyo mi-ungano vs. mi-eusi mi-embaba mi-ororo

→ → → → →

miembe “mango trees” (sg. mwembe) miezi “months” (sg. mwezi) miaka “years” (sg. mwaka) mioyo “hearts” (sg. moyo) miungano “unions” (sg. muungano)

→ myeusi “black” → myembaba “thin” → myororo “smooth”

The prefixes ki-/vi- display a special behavior when connected to a stem that begins with a non-identical vowel, becoming ch-/vy- among pronouns, adjectives, and a few nouns (5a–e). Conversely, they are maintained as such in most nouns, especially those that are verb-derived or derive from a noun beginning with a vowel (5f–j) (for detailed analysis, you may refer to Mpiranya 1995). (5) ki-/vi- + Different vowel: ki- → ch/vi- → vy- (pronouns, adjectives, and a few nouns) vs. vowel sequence (most nouns, especially verb-derived and base nouns with initial vowel) a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

ki-eupe/viki-angu/viki-akula/viki-ungu/viki-oo/vivs. ki-oo/viki-ungo/vi-

h. i.

ki-uno/viki-elelezo/vi-

j.

ki-arabu

→ → → → →

cheupe/vyeupe “white” changu/vyangu “my; mine” chakula/vyakula “food; meal(s)” chungu/vyungu “cooking pot(s)” choo/vyoo “bathroom(s); toilet(s)”

→ kioo/vioo “mirror(s)” → kiungo/viungo “spice(s); condiment(s)” (from kuunga “to season”) → kiuno/viuno “hip(s)” → kielelezo/vielelezo “illustration(s); model(s)” (from kueleleza “illustrate”) → Kiarabu “Arabic” (see Arabuni “Arab world”)

The contact between the rounded prefix vowel /u/ and a non-identical stem vowel varies depending on the roundedness or non-roundedness of the latter. If the latter is non-rounded, the prefix vowel becomes a semi-vowel, as shown in (6). If the stem vowel is the rounded vowel /o/, the prefix vowel also becomes a semi-vowel in most cases, as in (7a–d). However, with some nouns begining with /o/ and the pronoun -ote “all”, the prefix vowel is dropped, as in (7e–i). (6) “Rounded” /u/ + “non-rounded” vowel: semi-vowel formation (u- → w) a. b.

mu-alimu ku-ako

→ mwalimu “teacher” (mu-yu,a) → kwako “your” (ku-ku)

64

Prefix/stem contact rules vs. no prefix c. d.

mu-ingi mu-eusi

→ mwingi “much; a lot of” (mu-u) → mweusi “black” (mu-u)

(7) “Rounded” /u/ + “rounded” /o/: semi-vowel formation in general (nouns, adjectives) vs. prefix vowel elision for a few nouns (comprehensive list) and the pronoun -ote a.

mu-ororo

b. c. d.

mu-ongozo mu-ongo mu-oga vs. mu-oyo mu-oto mu-oshi ku-ote mu-ote

e. f. g. h. i.

→ mwororo “tender; smooth” (mu-u; e.g. mwili mwororo “smooth body”) → mwongozo “guideline; direction” (mu-u) → mwongo “liar” (mu-yu,a) → mwoga “coward” (mu-yu,a) → → → → →

moyo “heart” (mu-u) moto “fire” (mu-u) moshi “smoke; steam” (mu-u) kote “every; everywhere” (locative agreement seen in 16.1) mote (also mwote) “everywhere inside” (locative agreement seen in 16.1)

The contact between the “open” prefix vowel /a/ and a “mid” stem vowel /e,o/ also shows a contrast between non-derived word stems and verb-derived nouns. Original word stems trigger the elision of the prefix vowel, as in (8a–e), while verb-derived nouns allow vowel sequences between the prefix and the stem, similar to the nouns that naturally begin with a vowel in the singular (8f–i). (8) “Open” vowel /a/ + “mid” vowel: Prefix vowel elision in general vs. vowel sequence among verb-derived nouns and nouns beginning with a vowel in the singular a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

wa-ote ya-ote ma-embamba wa-eledi wa-ehu vs. ma-oni ma-endeleo

h. i.

ma-elezo ma-eneo

→ → → → →

wote “all of them” (wa-wa) yote “all of them” (ma-ya) membamba “thin” (ma-ya) weledi “professionals” (sg. mu-eledi → mweledi) wehu “insane people” (sg. mu-ehu → mwehu)

→ maoni “views” (ma-ya; from kuona “to see”) → maendeleo “progress” (ma-ya; from kuendelea “to progress”) → maelezo “explanation” (ma-ya; from kueleza “explain”) → maeneo “areas” (ma-ya; sg. eneo “area”)

The contact between the “open” prefix vowel /a/ and a “closed non-rounded” stem vowel /i/ triggers the contraction of the two vowels, each adopting qualities of the other (a+i → e), as shown in (9a–d). Verb-derived noun stems and nouns that naturally begin with a vowel in the singular are an exception here, as they maintain the prefix and the stem vowel (9e–f ). On the other hand, the prefix vowel /a/ does not coalesce with the “closed rounded” vowel /u/. Instead, the two vowels are maintained in sequence (10).

Prefix/stem contact rules vs. no prefix 65 (9)

Prefix /a/+/i/ → /e/ vs. vowel sequence (verb-derived and nouns beginning with a vowel in the singular) a. b. c. d. e.

wa-ingi ma-ingine ma-ino ma-iko vs. wa-imbaji

f.

ma-ini

→ → → →

wengi “many” (subclass [wa-wa]) mengine “other” (subclass [ma-ya]) meno “teeth” (sg. j-ino → jino) meko “fireplaces” (sg. j-iko → jiko)

→ waimbaji “singers” (wa-wa; see mwimbaji “singer”; kuimba “sing”) → maini “livers” (sg. ini “liver”)

(10) “open” vowel /a/ + “closed rounded” vowel /u/: vowel sequence a. b.

wa-ume ma-umivu

→ waume “husbands” (sg. mume) → maumivu “pain; suffering” (from kuumia “suffer”)

9.2. Adjective agreement in class [n-i/n-zi] In class [n-i/n-zi], the adjectives that begin with a “sonorous” consonant require a n- prefix, or m- before the labial consonant /b/ (see Table 9.1a below). Conversely, those beginning with a non-sonorous or a nasal consonant have no apparent prefix (see Table 9.1b–c; similar patterns with the nouns have been seen in Language note 5.5). The “sonorous” consonants are those pronounced with air pressure in the throat, which makes them resonate more than their “non-sonorous” counterparts: see aligned elements in Table 9.1a vs. 9.1b. Despite the restriction on the nasal prefix before a non-sonorous consonant, the monosyllabic adjective -pya “new” requires the use of a prefix to give it a disyllabic structure (Table 9.1d). As before /b/ in Table 9.1a, here the prefix n- takes the form m- to harmonize with /p/. Like /f,v/, the sounds /p,b,m/ are labial consonants, as they are pronounced using the lips. Also, the agreement prefix n- appears as ny- before a vowel (Table 9.1e). Table 9.1 The nominal prefix in class [n-i/n-zi] according to the following consonant or vowel Prefix Stem initial

Examples : b, d, > mb

j,

g,

v (mv)

z

–

–

ch, ny,

k, ng/ng’

f, –

s, –

sh, –

h –

a.

n- or m-

+ Sonorous Cons.

b. c.

ø- ø-

+ Non-sonor. Cons. : p, + Nasal Cons. : m,

d.

nor mny-

+ CV# [monosyllabic stem] > mp; (mb) + Vowel

e.

t, n,

(mv)

ndogo; mbaya; (mvua “rain”) pana, tatu, fupi moja, nne, nane, ngapi? (nchi “country”) mpya; (mbwa; mvi) nyeupe, nyeusi, nyingi

(Bold italics = labial consonants. In parentheses: cases found only among nouns; mvi =“gray hair”)

You will observe that mbwa/mbwa “dog(s)” in Table 9.1d has structurally the prefix n- in both singular and plural, which is typical of nouns in class [n-i/n-zi]. However, as an

66

Prefix/stem contact rules vs. no prefix

animate noun, it triggers the agreement in class [mu-yu,a/wa-wa]. In (11), you have additional examples of different types of adjectives, and an additional illustration of sound variation in (12–13). (11) Other variable adjectives according to their initial consonants or vowels a. b. c.

-zuri “good”, -zito “heavy”, -zima “complete”, -zee “old”, -gumu “hard”, -geni “foreign”, -bivu “ripe”, -bichi “raw; uncooked; fresh” Non-sonorous consonant: -kubwa “big”, -kuu “main”, -kali “fierce”, -kavu “dry”, -kongwe “very old” -chafu “dirty”, -tano “five”, -tamu “delicious” Vowel: -ekundu “red”, -emabamba “thin”, -epesi “light”, -ingine “other” Sonorous consonant:

(12) Typical prefix agreement with an adjective in class [n-i/n-zi] a. b. c.

nyumba nnyumba nnyumba n-

nzuri nchafu ønyeupe n-

tatu ømbovu nmpya n-

“three beautiful houses” “dirty, dilapidated houses” “a new white house”

(13) Special prefix/stem contacts in class [n-i/n-zi] a.

n-r

→ nd:

b.

n-l

→ nd:

c.

n-w → mb:

d.

-ema vs. n-jema

e.g.: njia ndefu “a long pathway” (n-jia n-refu vs. mti mrefu “a long tree”) n-limi → ndimi “tongues” (vs. u-limi → ulimi “tongue”: class [mu-u/n-zi]) e.g.: njia mbili “two roads” (n-jia n-wili vs. miti miwili “two trees”) (e.g. mtu mwema “a kind person” vs. safari njema “a nice trip”)

9.3. Origin of special prefix/stem contacts in class [n-i/n-zi] (advanced analysis) The glide /w/ derives from *b historically, and the liquids /r,l/ derive from *d. The contacts n-w → mb, n-r → nd, and n-l → nd listed in (13) may seem quite odd in a synchronic perspective, but they are a direct reflection of older rules, that is *n-b → mb and *n-d → nd. Similarly, the exceptional form -jema in (13d) is an archaic stem that has been exceptionally preserved in the presence of the nasal prefix n-. Other stems with a vowel in initial position also had an initial *j, which explains the /ny/ form instead of /n/ in class [n-i/n-zi] before a stem vowel, as seen in (12) (from original *n-jVowel contact; e.g. nyumba nyingi “many houses”, from *n-jumba n-jingi; see Table 9.1 for more examples).

Prefix/stem contact rules vs. no prefix 67 On the other hand, the neutralization of the nasal prefix before a non-sonorous consonant flows from a long historical process, which originates from the aspiration of Nasal + NonSonorous Consonant sequences (e.g. n-k: nk > nkh > kh > k). Some speakers pronounce word-initial non-sonorous stops/affricates as aspirates in class [n-i/n-zi], that is, as [ph,th,kh,chh] (e.g. phaka “cat” vs. paka “smear/paint” [most names for animals originally had a prefix n-]; nyama thamu “delicious meat” vs. tunda tamu “delicious fruit”; sumu khali “violent poison” vs. jino kali “a sharp tooth”; chhaka “hot season” vs. chaka/machaka “clump of trees, thicket”). For a detailed representation of consonant aspiration in Swahili, you may consult BAKIZA (2010).

9.4. Noun and adjective prefixes in the subclass [ø-li] For adjectives, the agreement prefix for the subclass [ø-li] is j- before a vowel (14), jibefore a monosyllabic stem or -CV (15), ø- in other contexts (see -dogo in (14); zuri in (15)) (a general presentation of these types of variation is given in Appendix B). (14) daftari dogo jeusi [ø-daftari ø-dogo j-eusi] (pl. madaftari madogo meusi

“a small black notebook” “small black notebooks”)

(15) gari zuri jipya jeupe [ø-gari ø-zuri ji-pya j-eupe] (pl. magari mazuri mapya meupe

“a nice new white car” “nice new white cars”)

A few original nouns (i.e. that are not verb-derived) also follow the rule of ji- and jprefixes before monosyllabic stems and stems beginning with a vowel respectively. Those nouns are: ji-cho (ma-cho) “eye(s)”; ji-we (ma-we) “stone(s)”; j-ino (ma-ino → meno) “tooth/teeth”; and j-ambo (ma-ambo → mambo) “issue(s); affair(s)”. Conversely, most polysyllabic noun stems in the subclass [ø-li] that begin with a vowel appear without a prefix. A few examples of such nouns are: ua/maua “flower(s)”; embe/ maembe “mango(es)”; onyo/maonyo “warning(s)” (from kuonya “warn”); ombi/maombi “request; prayer” (from kuomba “request; pray; beg”); eneo/maeneo “region(s); area(s)”; ajabu/maajabu “marvel(s)” (foreign word).

9.5. Invariable adjectives and pronouns While most adjectives and pronouns vary in accordance with the nouns they are related to in a given sentence, some of them do not vary. The following sections give a description of those invariable elements. 9.5.1 Foreign adjectives and indefinite pronouns Adjectives of foreign origin are generally invariable. This is the case for: sita “six”; saba “seven”; tisa “nine”; bora “better; very good”; safi “clean”; muhimu “important”; kamili “complete; exact”; ghali “expensive”; rahisi “easy; cheap”; wazi “open; obvious”, etc. Indefinite pronouns kila “each; every”, mbalimbali “various”, and kadhaa “several” are also invariable. Examples are given in (16).

68

Prefix/stem contact rules vs. no prefix

(16) Use of invariable adjectives and pronouns a. b. c. d.

“Clean water is important for health” “Some/various students have a computer” “Every student has a computer” “Every ten houses have a leader”

Maji safi ni muhimu kwa afya Wanafunzi kadhaa/mbalimbali wana kompyuta Kila mwanafunzi ana kompyuta Kila nyumba kumi zina kiongozi

Additionally, the stems for tens, hundreds, and beyond are nouns (like “dozen(s)” or “hundred(s)” in English) and, therefore, do not agree with the noun that they qualify (see kumi “ten”, ishirini “twenty”, mia “a hundred”, etc.). 9.5.2 Invariable interrogative pronouns Aside from the interrogative pronoun -pi “which?” seen in Language note 5.2, Swahili uses the invariable interrogative pronoun gani “what (+noun)?” as shown in (17) (see also (-a) aina gani “what kind of?; what sort of?” (lit. “of what kind”)). The interrogative pronouns nani “who?” and nini “what?” are also used for questions that imply a specific object or person (18a–b). These two pronouns do not refer to a specific noun and are only used in the absence of a noun. Contrary to nini “what?”, nani “who?” may imply an answer in the singular or in the plural. It is optionally pluralized with the particle akina (18a). (17) Use of the invariable interrogative pronoun “gani?” a. b.

Umesoma kitabu gani?/Mmesoma vitabu gani? “What book(s) did you (you all) read?” Nitanunua matunda ya aina gani?/ . . . aina gani ya matunda? “What kind of fruit will I buy?”

(18) Use of interrogative adverb “nani?/nini?” a. b.

Nani anataka kusoma?/(Akina) nani wanataka kusoma? “Who want(s) to read?” Unataka nini? “What do you want?”

9.6. Application exercises (19) Translate the adjectives in column A into English. Fill in the blanks in columns B and C with the Swahili adjectives from column A.

a. b. c. d. e.

A Adjectives

B shuka “bed sheet” / mashuka “bed sheets”

C meza “table(s)”

-baya -chafu -dogo -embamba -eupe

shuka __________ shuka __________ shuka __________ shuka __________ shuka __________

meza ________ meza ________ meza ________ meza ________ meza ________

/ mashuka __________ / mashuka __________ / mashuka __________ / mashuka __________ / mashuka __________

Prefix/stem contact rules vs. no prefix 69

f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. p. q. r. s.

A Adjectives

B shuka “bed sheet” / mashuka “bed sheets”

C meza “table(s)”

-fupi -gumu -ingi -ingine -kubwa -moja -nane -ngapi? -pana -pya -refu -tatu -wili -zuri

shuka __________ shuka __________ ***** shuka __________ shuka __________ shuka __________ ***** ***** shuka __________ shuka __________ shuka __________ ***** ***** shuka __________

meza ________ meza ________ meza ________ meza ________ meza ________ meza ________ meza ________ meza ________ meza ________ meza ________ meza ________ meza ________ meza ________ meza ________

/ mashuka __________ / mashuka __________ / mashuka __________ / mashuka __________ / mashuka __________ / ***** / mashuka __________ / mashuka __________ / mashuka __________ / mashuka __________ / mashuka __________ / mashuka __________ / mashuka __________ / mashuka __________

(20) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d.

I like this exercise. The other exercises are difficult. My father’s car is small and black. I don’t like black cars. I like white cars. Lela has long hair, but her sister’s hair is short and black. (word for “hair”: plural) I have lived in Nairobi for many years.

9.7. Cumulative exercises (21) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i.

Many people do not like to read. Other people like to watch TV. How many (pieces of) fruit do you want? We want two oranges and six mangoes. Which language do you like? I like many languages. Who brought these books here? They’re my books. Mariam brought them. We learned Swahili at school. We didn’t learn English. Many classes begin at 9am. Other lessons begin at 1:30pm. This year, we will go to Mombasa. We want to visit our friend Abdalla. Won’t you go to Malindi as well? No, we won’t go to Malindi. Tomorrow, we will return to Nairobi. I cannot pay today. I have not yet gotten my salary for this month (lit. “of this month”). I don’t play soccer. On weekends, I visit my family and my friends. I have a big family and many friends.

10 Relative clauses and the use of reference pronouns

10.1. Relative clauses and the role of reference pronouns A relative clause is a subordinate clause that qualifies a noun (i.e. subordinate clauses intro­ duced by “who”, “whom”, “which”, “where, in/on which”, or “that” in English). Subordinate clauses that qualify the subject of the verb are called “subject relatives”. Those which qualify the object of the verb are called “object relatives” (see “whom” vs. “who” in English). In Swahili, the relative construction is formed by adding a relative marker to the verb or to the relative conjunction amba-, which appears before the verb. The relative marker corresponds to a “reference pronoun”, which is a reduced form of the contrastive pronoun that attaches to different types of words. Accordingly, the contrastive pronoun yeye “him; her” corresponds to the reference pronoun/relative marker -ye, while the contrastive pronoun wao “them” corresponds to the reference pronoun/relative marker -o. The examples in (1b–2b) show the correspondence between the contrastive pronoun yeye/wao and the reference pronouns -ye/-o in relative clauses. The use of the reference pronouns in other contexts will be seen in 10.10. (1) Contrastive pronoun “yeye” vs. relative marker/reference pronoun “-ye” a. b.

Mwalimu anatufundisha Kiswahili. Yeye anatoka Tanga. Mwalimu ana ye tufundisha Kiswahili anatoka Tanga.

“The teacher teaches us Swahili. He comes from Tanga”. “The teacher who teaches us Swahili comes from Tanga”.

(2) Contrastive pronoun “wao” vs. relative marker/reference pronoun “-o” a. b.

Walimu wanatufundisha Kiswahili. Wao wanatoka Tanga. Walimu wanaotufundisha Kiswahili wanatoka Tanga.

“The teachers teach us Swahili. They come from Tanga”. “The teachers who teach us Swahili come from Tanga”.

Table 10.1 shows the form of reference pronouns/relative markers in different classes. Table 10.1 Reference pronouns/relative markers in different classes Subclass Base form

mu­yu,a wa­wa mu­u mi­i ma­ya n­i ø­li ki­ki vi­vi n­zi ku­ku pa­pa mu­mu yeye wa­o u­o i­o ya­o i­o li­o ki­o vi­o zi­o ku­o pa­o mu­o

Ref. PRon./Rel. -ye

-o

-yo

-lo -cho -vyo -zo -ko

-po

(See 7.2 for the meaning of the locative pronouns -ko, -po, -mo; more details are given in 16.1)

-mo

Relative clauses and reference pronouns 71 As seen in Table 10.1, the reference pronouns generally have the form [pronominal prefix + -o]. However, the singular marker in the animate class has the form -ye, which derives directly from yeye “him/her” and constitutes a substantial difference with the demonstrative pronoun for “near you” seen in Table 5.3. Additionally, in the subclasses [wa-wa] and [mu-u] the pronominal prefix is not apparent, that is, the reference pronoun is reduced to the form -o. This is due to phonetic simplification that results from a restriction on sequences involving a rounded semi­vowel and a rounded vowel, especially in word non­initial position (see -wa-o → /o/ and -u-o → /o/, not *wo). A similar phenomenon is observed with equivalent demonstrative pronouns (see ha-wa-o → hao “those”, not *hawo; hu-u-o → huo “that”, not *huwo). Importantly, all animates, including the first and second persons in singular and plural (“me/you”; “we/you all”), trigger the use of the reference pronoun of the third person, that is, -ye, which derives from yeye “him/her”, and -o, which derives from wao “them”.

10.2. Three forms of relative constructions in Swahili Swahili has three types of relative constructions regarding the position of the relative marker. Specifically, the relative marker may attach to the conjunction amba-, which is used before the verb, but it can also be prefixed or suffixed to the verb. The different forms of the relative construction have fundamentally the same meaning but not the same frequency. This is because all three types of relative constructions have some restrictions, which we will discover progressively. 10.2.1 Relative clauses with the conjunction ambaThe amba- relative is most frequently used by Swahili speakers. Furthermore, it has the widest distribution, as it appears with any verb in the indicative or conditional mood, and in all tenses, which makes it easier to handle for non­native speakers. The following examples illustrate the use of the subject relative as well as the object relative with the conjunction amba- (3–4). The relative marker in subject relative clauses refers to the subject (3), while the marker of object relative clauses refers to the object (4). Object relative clauses also prompt the use of an “object marker” that refers to the object of the verb (see the segments highlighted with a box). (3) Subject relative with amba-: amba-Rel. + VeRb a. b.

Subclass [ki-ki] (-cho) Kitabu ambacho kinafundisha kusoma ni hiki “The book which teaches reading is this one” Subclass [mu-yu,a] (-ye) Mtoto ambaye anapenda kusoma ni huyu “The child who likes to read is this one”

(4) Object relative with amba-: amba-Rel. + VeRb/Object Marker a. b.

Subclass [ki-ki] (-cho) Kitabu ambacho nina ki soma ni hiki Subclass [mu-yu,a] (-ye) Mtoto ambaye nina m penda ni huyu

“The book that I am reading is this one” “The child whom I like is this one”

72

Relative clauses and reference pronouns

In this text, the term “object marker” refers to an object pronoun that serves to highlight a verb object with which it co­occurs. With this pattern, the verb object is contrasted with other possible objects or assumed as specific. In informal speech, “object markers” entailed by object relative clauses are optionally omitted. The markers for the general form of the relative are: amba-ye (cl. [mu-yu,a]); amba-o (cl. [wa-wa], [mu-u]); amba-yo (cl. [mi-i], [ma-ya], [n-i] ); amba-lo (cl. [ø-li]); amba-cho (cl. [ki-ki] ); amba-vyo (cl. [vi-vi]); amba-zo (cl. [n-zi] ); amba-ko (cl. [ku-ku]); amba-po (cl. [pa-pa]); amba-mo (cl. [mu-mu]). Importantly, the conjunction amba- is only used in the presence of the noun it refers to or a pronoun that stands for it, as in (5a–b). In the absence of the referred noun, the demonstrative -le is typically used by default (5c–d). (5) a. b. c. d.

Watoto ambao wanapenda kusoma watafaulu “The children who like to read will succeed” Wote ambao wanapenda kusoma watafaulu “All who like to read will succeed” Wale ambao wanapenda kusoma watafaulu “Those who like to read will succeed” Yule ambaye anapenda kusoma atafaulu “The one who likes to read will succeed”

In addition, the English conjunction “whose” always corresponds to a construction involving a possessive pronoun in Swahili. In the relative clauses, it corresponds to the pattern [of whom/which + noun + PossessiVe], as shown in (6). (6) a. b. c.

Nyumba ambayo paa lake limeharibika . . . “The house whose roof is ruined . . .” Ninajua nchi ambayo mshiriki wake ameshinda “I know the country whose candidate has won” Wazazi ambao mtoto wao amefaulu wamefurahi “The parents whose child has succeeded are happy”

10.2.2 Prefixed relative form The relative construction that uses a prefixed relative marker appears only in the indicative mood, in present, past, and future tenses. Accordingly, it is not used in the perfect tense, nor in the conditional mood (seen respectively in 6.1 and 17.1). With the prefixed relative, the verb has the form [Subject ­ Tense ­ Relative MaRkeR ­ stem], as shown in (7–8). Similar to the construction with amba-, here the object relative uses an “object marker” that is prefixed before the stem (8). (7) Prefixed subject relative: Subject ­ Tense ­ Relative MaRkeR ­ stem a. b.

Subclass [ki-ki] (-cho-) Subclass [mu-yu,a] (-ye-)

: Kitabu kinachofundisha kusoma ni hiki : Mtoto anayependa kusoma ni huyu

Relative clauses and reference pronouns 73 (8) Prefixed object relative: Subject ­ Tense ­ Relative MaRkeR ­ Object Marker ­ stem a. b.

Subclass [ki-ki] (-cho-) Subclass [mu-yu,a] (-ye-)

: Kitabu ninacho ki soma ni hiki : Mtoto ninaye m penda ni huyu (Same translation as in 10.2.1.)

In addition, the prefixed relative uses the marker -taka- in the future tense instead of -ta-, as shown in the following examples (9–10). (9)

Kitabu ni takacho ki soma ni hiki “The book which I will read is this one”

(10) Mtoto a takayependa kusoma atafaulu “The child who will like reading will succeed” 10.2.3 Suffixed relative form The relative construction with a suffixed marker is quite rare, as it is restricted to the present tense of the indicative mood, in the affirmative form. As shown in (11), the verb of the suffixed relative does not use a tense marker but has the form [Subject ­ stem ­ RelatiVe maRkeR]. Here also, the object relative uses an “object marker” prefixed before the stem (12). (11) Suffixed subject relative: Subject ­ stem ­ RelatiVe maRkeR a. b.

Subclass [ki-ki] (-cho) Subclass [mu-yu,a] (-ye)

: Kitabu kifundishacho kusoma ni hiki : Mtoto apendaye kusoma ni huyu

(12) Suffixed object relative: Subject ­ Object Marker ­ stem ­ RelatiVe maRkeR a. b.

Subclass [ki-ki] (-cho-) Subclass [mu-yu,a] (ye-)

: Kitabu ni ki somacho ni hiki : Mtoto ni m pendaye ni huyu (Same translation as in 10.2.1.)

10.3. Relative construction in the negative form In the negative form of the amba- relative clause, the main verb follows the regular rules of negation, with the addition of a marker ha-, h- (before animate prefixes u- and a-) or si- (first person singular) (13–14). In the negative form, the object relative clauses require an “object marker” similar to their affirmative counterparts (14). (13) Kitabu ambacho hakikufika mtakipata kesho lit. “The book which did not arrive you will get it tomorrow” (14) Kitabu ambacho ham ki somi hamtakielewa lit. “The book which you don’t read you will not understand it” As shown in (15–16), prefixed relative clauses use the special negation marker -si-. In addition, the negation is restricted here to the present tense, which does not use a specific

74

Relative clauses and reference pronouns

tense marker. In other words, the negation of past and future clauses requires the use of the amba- form. “The child who does not like reading is this one” “The book that we don’t read is this one”

(15) Mtoto asiyependa kusoma ni huyu (16) Kitabu tusicho ki soma ni hiki

Clauses with a suffixed relative marker do not have specific negation. The amba- form or the prefixed form must be used to negate this type of clauses. Table 10.2 summarizes different relative clause patterns and their contextual restrictions. Table 10.2 Form and contextual restrictions on different relative clause patterns Pattern

Affirmative

Negative

Restriction

a.

amba-

b.

Prefixed

amba­Rel. + Verb (Obj. Marker) Subj­Tense­Rel.­(Obj.)­Stem

c.

Suffixed Subj­(Obj)­Stem­Rel.

amba­Rel. + Neg. Verb (Obj. Marker) Subj­si­Rel.­Stem (no tense marker) ––

Only with referred noun or pronoun Past, Pres., Fut. (no Perfect) Neg.: Present only Present only; no Negation

10.4. Review exercise (17) Translate into Swahili, using amba- (keep previous sections covered) a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

the chair which the tables on which the country where the chairs which the boys who the boy who the walls which the friends who

i. j. k. l. m. n. o. p.

the table which the room in which the car which the tables which the wall which the arrival which the water which the trees which

10.5. Relative constructions with a locative/temporal connotation The locative marker -po, -ko, or -mo seen in 7.2 (Figure 7.1) are also used in relative constructions to express the connotations of location at a “specific point”, in a “general area”, or “inside”. Examples are given in (18–20). (18) a. b.

Ninapenda meza ambapo umeweka maua “I like the table on which you have put flowers” Ninapenda meza ulipoweka maua “I like the table on which you put flowers” (past)

(19) Nchi ambako ninatoka inatumia Kiingereza./ Nchi ninakotoka . . . / nitokako . . .

“The country where I come from uses English”

(20) Nyumba ambamo wanaishi ni kongwe./ Nyumba wanamoishi . . . / Nyumba waishimo . . .

“The house in which they live is very old”

Relative clauses and reference pronouns 75 The locative marker po- may also express the notion of location in time (21–22). Following the general pattern of the relative verb formation, temporal clauses with ­po- use the markers -taka- in the future tense (21c, 22c), and -si- in the negative form, which is also limited to the present tense (21d, 22d). (21) a. b. c. d.

tulipokaa tunapokaa/tukaapo tutakapokaa tusipokaa

“when/where “when/where “when/where “when/where

we we we we

stayed” stay” will stay” don’t stay”

(22) a. b. c. d.

nilipomwona ninapomwona/nimwonapo nitakapomwona nisipomwona

“when/where “when/where “when/where “when/where

we saw him” we see him” we will see him” don’t see him”

10.6. Use of the suffixed relative form in proverbs and elliptical constructions As we have seen, the suffixed relative form is quite rare. However, it is commonly used in formal constructions such as proverbs (23–24). The example in (25) shows the use of the prefixed relative form in a proverb. (23) Atakaye hachoki “Who wants [something] is never tired” (24) Wapiganapo tembo, nyasi huumia “When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers” (25) Asiyekubali kushindwa si mshindani “He who does not accept losing is not a competitor” In addition, prefixed and suffixed relative forms are commonly used in elliptical constructions, that is, that omit the referred noun, especially those that implicitly refer to the nouns mtu/watu “person/people” (26); kitu/vitu “thing (what)/things” (27); jambo/mambo “something/things; what” (28). (26) a. b. (27) a. b. c. d.

Nimtakaye hanipendi “The one I want doesn’t love me” Tuliowafikiria sio “The ones we thought of are not the (real) ones” Unadhani wanawajua wanachokifanya? “Do you think they know what they are doing?” Sijui anachokitaka “I don’t know what he wants” Sikiliza kwanza ninachokuambia “Listen first to what I am telling you” Alivyotuambia ni uongo mtupu. “The things he told us are an empty lie”

76

Relative clauses and reference pronouns

(28) a. b.

Usilolijua ni kama usiku wa giza “Something you don’t know is like a dark night” Asemayo ni upuuzi kabisa! “What he is saying is complete nonsense”

The prefixed and suffixed relative forms are also used in various practical expressions. A few examples are listed in (29). (29) a. b. c. d. e. f.

Wanaoondoka “Departures, e.g. in an airport” (lit. “those who depart”) Wanaowasili “Arrivals, e.g. in an airport” (lit. “those who arrive”) Siku ya wapendanao “Lovers’ day” (lit. “the day of those who love each other”) Maneno yafuatayo “The following words” (lit. “the words which follow”) Wiki ijayo/siku zijazo/mwaka ujao “Next week/days/year” (lit. “the coming week/days/year”) Mwaka uliopita “Last year” (lit. “the year which passed”)

10.7. The verbs “be” and “have” in suffixed relative forms Suffixed relative clauses for the verbs “be” and “have” in the affirmative form are based on the stem -li- followed by the relative marker, also by the conjunction na for the verb “have”, as shown with the a. series in (30–32). On the other hand, their negative counterparts place the relative marker next to the segment si-, as seen with the b. series in (30–32). The two constructions correspond to the relative clauses based on the conjunction amba- followed by the verb “be”/“have” in the simple form of the present tense (seen in Language notes 2.6 and 7.1). There is no prefixed relative form with the verbs “be”/ “have” in the present tense. (30) a. b. (31) a. b. (32) a. b.

aliye/walio; kilicho/vilivyo, ulio/iliyo, lilio/yaliyo “who, which is/are” asiye/wasio; kisicho/visivyo, usio/isiyo, lisio/yasiyo “who, which is/are not” aliye/walio, kilicho/visivyo, ulio/iliyo, lilio/yaliyo + na “who, which has/have” asiye/wasio, kisicho/visivyo, usio/isiyo, lisilo/yasiyo + na “who, which has/have not” Aliye mwanafunzi asome “He who is a student may read” Asiye mwanafunzi asisome “He who is not a student may not read”

As shown in (33a–d), the locative pronouns -po, -ko, -mo are suffixed to the locative form -li- “be” in the relative clause (-si- in the negative), similar to other forms of the verb “be” shown in (33e) with the past and the future tense.

Relative clauses and reference pronouns 77 (33) a.

b.

c. d. e.

Pres.: Kilichopo, kilichoko, kilichomo/ “Which is here/there/in there”/ Pres. Neg.: Kisichopo, kisichoko, kisichomo “Which is not here/there/in there” Pres.: Vilivyomo humu ni vyangu/ “Those which are in here are mine”/ Pres. Neg.: Visivyomo humu si vyangu “Those which are not in here are not mine” Pres.: Je unajua wazazi wako walipo? “Do you know where your parents are?” Pres.: Popote vilipo nitavipata “Anywhere they (the things) are, I will get them” Fut.: Vitakavyokuwamo humu ni vyangu/ “Those which will be in here are mine”/ Past: Vilivyokuwamo humu ni vyangu “Those which were in here are mine”

In object relative constructions with the verb kuwa na/kutokuwa na “have/not have”, the reference pronoun is suffixed both to the verb base and the particle na-. This double suffixation is found with the relative stem -li- in the present tense, but also with the form kuwa, which is used in the past tense and the future tense (34–36) (cases of suffixation of the reference pronoun to non­relative forms are described in 10.10). (34) Present: niliye naye/nilio nao, nilicho nacho nisiye naye/nisio nao, nisicho nacho (35) Past: mliyekuwa naye/mlichokuwa nacho (36) Future: watakayekuwa naye/watakachokuwa nacho

“who/which I have” “who/which I don’t have” “who/which you (all) had” “who/which they will have”

10.8. Relative clauses vs. indirect clauses or interrogative adverbs Relative clauses should not be confused with indirect clauses, which also use the conjunction “that” in English. Indirect clauses typically serve to quote a statement or report an opinion. They use the indicative or conditional mood, as shown in (37) (the prefix -nge- “would” in (37d) marks the conditional; a complete description is given in Language note 17). In addition, they are introduced by the conjunction kwamba/kuwa “that”, which is optional after statement verbs, as in (37a) (a general presentation of clause connectors is given in Appendix C). (37) Use of indicative/conditional verbs in indirect clauses a. b. c.

Alisema (kwamba/kuwa) anakupenda Ninapenda kwamba/kuwa ameondoka Tumefurahi kwamba/kuwa umeshinda

d.

Alikiri kwamba/kuwa angependa kuondoka

“He said (that) he loves you” “I like (that) he has left” “We are happy (that) you have succeeded” “He admitted (that) he would like to leave”

In addition, it is important to keep in mind that the interrogative pronoun -pi? “which” and interrogative adverbs such as nini? “what?”, nani? “who?”, gani? “which/what?”, or wapi? “where?” (seen in 5.3. and 9.5.2) are only interrogatives and should not be confused

78

Relative clauses and reference pronouns

with relative conjunctions. On the other hand, they may be used as interrogative conjunctions, that is, in subordinate clauses referring to a question (38). The noun wakati “time” also may be used to express the non­interrogative conjunction “when/while”, as in (39). (38) a. b. c. d. e. (39) a. b. c. d.

Kwa kweli, sijui anataka nini “I truly don’t know what he wants” Alikataa kuniambia ni nani alikichukua “He refused to tell me who took it” Sijui ana shida gani yule “I don’t what problem that person has” Hatujui kitabu gani/kipi ni bora “We don’t know which book is better” Nitakuonyesha wapi ninakaa “I will show you where I live” Wakati nina furaha, ninaimba “When I am happy, I sing” Wakati alifika, tuliondoka “When he arrived, we left” Anapenda kunywa chai wakati anasoma “He likes drinking tea when he reads/while reading” Ninataka kusafiri wakati ninaweza “I want to travel while I can”

10.9. Review exercise (40) Change into plural and translate your own sentences into English (keep previous sections covered). a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

Kitabu kifundishacho kusoma ni hiki Mtoto asiyependa kusoma ni huyu Aliye mwanafunzi asome Kitabu tusichokisoma ni hiki Mtoto apendaye kusoma ni huyu Kitabu nitakachokisoma ni hiki Mtoto atakayependa kusoma atafaulu Asiye mwanafunzi asisome Mtoto nimpendaye ni huyu Nimtakaye hanipendi

10.10. The reference pronouns with na “and; with; also”, ndi-/si- “be/not be”, and others As mentioned before, the reference pronouns are used with different types of words, in addition to the verb in the relative form. This is the case with the conjunction na “and; with; also”, which gives for instance na + yeye → naye “with him/her; him/her also”. Examples of use are shown in (41–43).

Relative clauses and reference pronouns 79 (41) a. b. c.

Aligombana na Mariam Aligombana na yeye Aligombana naye

“He argued with Mariam” “He argued with her” “He argued with her”

(42) a. b.

Tulizungumza na wao Tulizungumza nao

“We talked with them” “We talked with them”

(43) a. b.

Je, ulikuja na shilingi elfu kumi? Ndiyo, nilikuja nazo

“Did you come with ten thousand shillings?” “Yes I did” (lit. “Yes, I came with them”)

When used with the noun they refer to, the expressions of the form “na + reference pronoun” may imply a contrastive connotation, that is, “even”, instead of simply “also”, as shown in the a. series in (44  –  46). In this specific use, the reference pronoun -ye does not alternate with the contrastive pronoun yeye “him/her”. (44) a. b.

(45) a. b.

(46) a. b.

Mwalimu naye ameondoka “Even the teacher has left” (lit. “The teacher him/her too has left”) Na mwalimu ameondoka “The teacher also has left” Shule za serikali nazo zimefungwa? “Even government schools have been closed?” (lit. “Government schools, they too have been closed?”) Na shule za serikali zimefungwa? “Government schools also have been closed?” Kula nako ni kazi? “Even eating is work?” Kula pia ni kazi? “Eating also is work?”

Similar to the reference pronouns, the contrastive pronouns of the first and second persons also may be combined with the conjunction na “and; with; also”. When attached to another element, contrastive pronouns made of two identical syllables are reduced to one syllable, that is, mimi → -mi; wewe → -we; sisi → -si; nyinyi → -nyi. Accordingly, their combination with na “and/with” gives the forms nami, nawe, nasi, nanyi (“and/with/too/also” + “me, you, us, you all”), as shown in Table 10.3. Table 10.3 The conjunction na “and/with” with the contrastive pronouns of first and second persons

a. b.

Person

Examples

Meaning

mimi sisi wewe ninyi

Je, utapenda kuenda sinema nami? Je, mtapenda kuenda sinema nasi? Jirani anakusaidia, nawe humshukuru? Jirani wanawasaidieni, nanyi hamuwashukuru?

Will you (you all) like going to the cinema with me?/with us? The neighbor(s) help(s) you (all), and you don’t thank him?/them?

80

Relative clauses and reference pronouns

To refer to the object, the verb kuwa na/kutokuwa na “have/not have” also uses a refer­ ence pronoun that is suffixed to the particle na “with/also; have”, instead of a prefixed object pronoun (47–49). (47) a. b.

ninaye/ninao/ninacho/ninavyo sinaye/sinao/sinacho/sinavyo

“I have one/some/it/those” “I don’t have one/some/it/those”

(48) a. b.

mlikuwa naye, nacho, nao hamkuwa naye, nacho, nao

“You all had one/some/it/those” “You all did not have one/some/it/those”

(49) a. b.

atakuwa naye, nacho, nao hatakuwa naye, nacho, nao

“He will have one/some/it/those” “He will not have one/some/it/those”

The reference pronouns are also suffixed to the contrastive/evocative verb “be”, that is, the particle ndi- that literally means “the one(s) who/which + be; the one(s) that + be”, or “be + aforementioned”, as shown in the a. series in (50–53). The negative counterpart of this verb is formed by suffixing a reference pronoun to the marker si-, as in the b. series in (50–53). You will observe that the terms ndiyo “yes” and siyo “no” are based on this structure in the subclass [n-i] and literally mean “that is it” and “that is not”. In other contexts, the contrastive/evocative verb ndi-/si- “be/not be” requires the presence of a subject, which may be a noun or a contrastive pronoun (additional uses of the particles na- and ndi-/si- with a reference pronoun are provided in Language note 16.2). (50) a. b.

Hiki ndicho kitabu changu Hiki sicho kitabu changu

“My book is this one” “My book is not this one” (lit. “This is not the one that is my book”)

(51) a.

Wewe ndiye jirani yake?

lit. “Is that you, his neighbor? (aforementioned)” lit. “That is not me, his neighbor”

b. (52) a. b. (53) a. b.

Mimi siye jirani yake Hii ndiyo sababu nimekuita Hii siyo sababu nimekuita Kazi yake ndiyo nzuri Kazi yake siyo nzuri

“This is the reason ( for which) I have called you” “This is not the reason ( for which) I have called you” “His work is the one that is good” “His work is not good (at all)”

The reference pronoun based on the stem -o also may be suffixed to the pronoun -ingine “other”. This process generally adds an emphatic connotation to the latter (e.g. “. . . other different”), as shown in (54). Though rare in the singular animate class, this construction uses the pronominal base -o, instead of -ye that is generally used in this subclass (54a). (54) a. b.

[mu-yu,a/wa-wa]: [ki-ki/vi-vi]:

mtu mwingineo/watu wengineo “somebody else/other different people” kinginecho/vinginevyo “something else/other different things”

Relative clauses and reference pronouns 81 Finally, the notion of “any” is expressed by a combination of the pronouns yeye “him; her” and ­ote “all” in the animate class singular (55a), while the other classes use a combination of the reference pronoun -o and the pronoun ­ote (see -o-ote), with an agreement prefix for each of them (55b–c). Depending on the speaker, the latter combination also may be used for the animate class in the singular, that is, using the prefix w-, as shown in (55a). (54) a. b. c.

Umemwona mchezaji yeyote/wowote? Umewawona wachezaji wowote? Umeona kitabu chochote?

“Did you see any player?” “Did you see any players?” “Did you see any book?”

10.11. Application exercises (56) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

I have two brothers who live in Pemba. I also have a younger sister whom we will visit next week. She has a fiancé whose parents live in the US (lit. “whom his parents live in the US”). The suitcase that she brought is heavy. The house (that) we bought has three rooms. Does it have a kitchen? Yes, it has one. The work that you did is very good. The students who will work a lot will succeed. Do you have my notebook? Yes, I have it. Is this the bag you are looking for? My child is this one. Have you bought any oranges (at all)?

10.12. Cumulative exercises (57) Fill in the blanks, using once each of these forms of the verb “be”: ni, ndilo, liko, lipo, liko, limo. Rewrite your sentences in the negative form and translate into English. a. b. c. d. e. f.

Daftari Daftari Daftari Daftari Daftari Daftari

_______ safi. _______ kwenye chumba kile. _______ langu. hili _______ langu. _______ nje. _______ mezani.

(58) Translate into Swahili and convert your sentence into plural or singular whenever possible (two answers per question). a. b. c. d.

The teacher who teaches English is late. Who is the teacher that will teach Swahili? The book that Juma is reading annoys him. The book that he doesn’t read, I will read it. The teacher who doesn’t teach English will teach Swahili tomorrow. The clothes which are in the cupboard belong to Juma (lit. “are of Juma”).

82

Relative clauses and reference pronouns e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. p. q.

Those who don’t like milk may drink water. Where is the food that he cooked? The bus that I will take arrives at 11:30am. Those who will not arrive early will not see her. I like a lot the poem that you have written. The young people who will arrive tomorrow come from Zanzibar. Those who do not work a lot cannot succeed. The students who study Swahili will go to Zanzibar next year. I who does not know French will speak Swahili. The road which goes to Nairobi has a lot of cars. Who knows does not say, who says does not know. The people who live here are Americans. I talked with her yesterday.

11 Imperative and subjunctive moods

Unlike the indicative mood, which typically declare facts, the imperative and subjunctive moods are generally non-declarative. In Swahili, the imperative mood expresses strong requests in the affirmative form, while the subjunctive mood expresses negative requests, as well as weak and indirect requests. The subjunctive is also used in subordinate clauses to imply the connotation of “possibility”, as opposed to “factual statements” that use verbs in the infinitive form or in the indicative mood.

11.1. Imperative mood When addressing one person, the imperative is formed by removing the infinitive marker of the verb. This simple form of the imperative is used without an object pronoun or any other prefix, as shown in (1). When the verb has an object pronoun, the singular imperative uses the marker -e, as in (2). (1) a. b.

kuona “to see” kusoma “to read”

→ Ona! → Soma!

“See!” “Read!”

(2) a. b.

kuona “to see” kusoma “to read”

→ lione! /li-on-e/ → Kisome! /ki-som-e/

“See it!” (subclass [ø-li]) “Read it!” (subclass [ki-ki])

However, the presence of an object pronoun does not affect the final vowel of foreign verbs ending in /i/, /e/, or /u/, as seen below in (3). The /i e u/ endings are part of the root of the verb and, therefore, are not affected by conjugation, contrary to the regular stem final -a. (3) a. b. c.

kujaribu “to try” → Kijaribu! /ki-jaribu/ “Try it!” (subclass [ki-ki]) kusubiri “to wait (for)” → Nisubiri! /ni-subiri/ “Wait for me!” kusamehe “to forgive” → Tusamehe! /tu-samehe/ “Forgive us!”

In the plural, the imperative is expressed with the final marker -eni for regular verbs, and -ni for irregular verb stems that end with the vowels /i/, /e/, or /u/, as shown respectively in (4) and (5). (4) a. b.

kuona “to see” kuona “to see”

→ Oneni /on-eni/ → Waoneni /wa-on-eni/

“See! (you all)” “See them! (you all)” (subclass [wa-wa])

84

Imperative and subjunctive moods

(5) a. b. c.

kusafiri “to travel” kujaribu “to try” kusamehe “to forgive”

→ Safirini! /safiri-ni/ → Jaribuni /jaribu-ni/ → Sameheni /samehe-ni/

“Travel! (you all)” “Try! (you all)” “Forgive! (you all)”

In both singular and plural, there exists an emphatic form of the imperative which uses the marker ka- (6). With regular verbs, this type of imperative requires the use of the final -e instead of the final -a in the singular (6a), similar to the imperative with an object pronoun seen in (2). (6) a. b. c.

Kafungue mlango! Kafungueni mlango! Kajibu/Kajibuni maswali yoye!

“(Go) open the door!” “(Go) open the door (you all)!” “(Go) answer all the questions/you all”

The imperative mood has no specific negative form and, therefore, strong negative requests use the negative subjunctive form seen below in 11.3.

11.2. Possible origin of the marker -eni/-ni for “you all” (advanced analysis) The imperative plural marker -eni described in the previous section 11.1 appears to correspond to the marker -eni used in the presence of an object pronoun ku- or wa- in the indicative mood (see tutawasaidieni [tu-ta-wa-saidi-eni]/tutakusaidieni [tu-ta-ku-saidi-eni] “we will help you all” in 3.1). They seem to result from a combination of the final vowel -a in indicative mood, or the marker -e in the imperative/subjunctive mood, and an archaic suffix -ini that corresponds to current contrastive pronoun ninyi ~ nyinyi “you all”, which gives a + i > /e/ and e + e > /e/. The marker -ni used with verbs of foreign origin ending in /e,i,u/ seems to follow from the deletion of suffix initial vowel (*-ini > -ni), as root vowels are generally resistant to phonetic change. In other words, the suffix initial vowel /i/ was deleted in this context because it could not combine with the preceding root vowel /i,e,u/. You will observe that the use of the marker -ni for “you all” has been extended beyond the verb. In particular, it is seen in the greetings shikamoo/shikamooni “respectful greetings/ to many people”, which are generally believed to derive from the expression shika mguu “I hold your feet” (lit. “hold foot”), and karibu(ni) “welcome (you all)”, which literally means “come nearer (you all)” (from Arabic karibun “near”). Colloquially, this extension tends to apply even beyond single words. Accordingly, the phrase ndugu zangu “my fellows” (lit. “my siblings”) may become ndugu zanguni when directly addressed to a group of people.

11.3. Subjunctive mood 11.3.1 Basic markers of the subjunctive mood As mentioned before, the subjunctive in Swahili expresses functions such as “requests” in the negative form, and “weak requests” that imply the notion of a delayed response. In the affirmative form, the subjunctive is rendered with the verb-final vowel -e (except for foreign verbs ending in -i, -e, or -u, which remain unchanged), and the absence of a tense marker. In the negative form, the same element is used, along with the negation marker -si-, as shown in Table 11.1 (compare with ha- in the indicative mood).

Imperative and subjunctive moods 85 Table 11.1 Basic markers of the subjunctive

a. b.

2nd.sg. 2nd.pl.

Affirmative: -e

Negative: -si- . . . -e

uone (u-on-e) “so you may see” mwone (mu-on-e) “so you (all) may see”

usione (u-si-on-e) msione (mu-si-on-e)

“so you may not see” “so you (all) may not see”

As noted before, the imperative uses the marker -e in some contexts, instead of the final vowel -a. This creates some similarity with the subjunctive, as shown in Table 11.2. Table 11.2 Imperative vs. subjunctive markers

a.

Imperative

b.

Subjunct.

c.

Negative Subjunct.

Singular

Sg. with obj. pron.

Plural

Pl. with obj. pron.

soma! “read” usome “read [later]”

kisome! “read it” ukisome “read it [later]”

usisome “don’t read”

usikisome “don’t read it”

someni! “read (you all)” msome “read (you all) [later]” msisome “don’t read”

kisomeni! “read it (you all)” mkisome “read it (you all) [later]” msikisome “don’t read it”

11.3.2 The subjunctive mood in main clauses and the expression of weak/indirect requests In the main clause, the subjunctive generally expresses weak requests addressed to the second person (“you/you all”), that is, polite requests that imply the notion of a delayed response (7). You will observe that the prefix kw-, which may appear in some conjugated forms of verbs such as kuenda/kwenda “go” or kuisha/kwisha “finish (intransitive), cease” is incompatible with verb tenses with a suffixed marker, such as the subjunctive mood with the marker -e shown in (7) (similar cases are seen in Language note 12.5). (7) a. b.

Uende dukani kununua chakula u-end-e: “you - go - subjunctive” “Please go to the store to buy some food (later)” Mwende dukani kununua chakula mu-end-e: “you all - go - subjunctive” “Please go to the store to buy some food (later)”

Requests addressed to the first person plural (“us”) and indirect requests directed to the third person are in the subjunctive mood by default and generally do not make a distinction between immediate and delayed response, as shown in (8a, c) and (9–11). However, depending on the speaker, requests addressed to “us” may optionally use the imperative marker -eni in the affirmative form to imply immediate response, as in (8b). (8) a.

Twende dukani kununua chakula tu-end-e “we - go - subjunctive” “Let’s go to the store to buy some food”

86

Imperative and subjunctive moods b. c.

(9)

a. b.

(10) a. b. (11) a. b.

Twendeni dukani kununua chakula tu-end-eni “we - go - imperative” “Let’s go right away to the store to buy some food” Tusiende dukani kununua chakula tu-si-end-e: “we - neg. - go - subjunctive” “Let’s not go to the store to buy some food” Liz aende sokoni leo “Liz should go to the market today” Liz asiende sokoni leo “Liz should not go to the market today” Waende dukani kununua chakula “They should go to the store to buy food” Wasiende dukani kununua chakula “They should not go to the store to buy food” Kitabu hiki kirudishwe dukani “This book should be returned to the store” Kitabu hiki kisirudishwe dukani “This book should not be returned to the store”

When used in exclamation clauses, indirect requests may involve a connotation of “wish”, as shown with the term “may” in the English glosses in (12). (12) a. b.

Mungu akubariki/akusaidie! Mungu amlaani!

“(May) God bless you!/(May) God help you!” “(May) God damn him!”

When used in interrogative clauses, the subjunctive mood may also imply a request for an opinion, with all categories of grammatical persons serving as the subject of the verb, as in (13). In addition, the subjunctive form is used in rhetorical questions to express “implicit requests”, as shown in (14). (13) a. b. c.

Je, nianze/nisianze sasa? Tufanye nini sasa? Waondoke au wasiondoke?

(14) a. b.

Kwa nini usiniache hapa? Kama mnapendana, kwa nini msioane?

c. d.

“Should I (not) begin now?” “What should we do now?” “Should they leave or not?”

“Why (should you) not leave me here?” “If you love each other, why (should you) not marry?” Kwa nini uchukue pesa za watu? “Why (should you) take other people’s money?” Kwa nini tuondoke mapema namna hii? “Why (should we) leave this early?”

(15) Review exercise: imperative vs. subjunctive in the main clause: Fill in the column “verb mood” with the name of the appropriate form; translate the sentences (“target glosses”) into Swahili and give their negative form in Swahili.

Imperative and subjunctive moods 87 Function of the main clause

Verb mood

Target glosses ( “it”, e.g. -ki-: tunakiona)

Swahili

Negative in Swahili

a.

Strong request

i.

Let’s write

i.

i.

b.

Weak request

ii.

Should we write?

ii.

ii.

c.

Indirect request

iii. They should write

iii.

iii.

iv. Write (you all)

iv.

iv.

v.

v.

vi. Write it (you all) [later]

vi.

vi.

vii. Write it [later]

vii.

vii.

viii. Write [later]

viii.

viii.

ix. Write it!

ix.

ix.

x.

x.

v.

x.

Write!

Write it! (you all)

11.3.3 The subjunctive mood in subordinate clauses and the connotation of “possibility” The use of the subjunctive mood in subordinate clauses is often associated with the expression of functions such as “purpose”, “request”, “obligation”, or “necessity”. However, it is essential to note that the subjunctive as such does not express those functions, as it often alternates with the infinitive form in this context. As shown with the example in (16a), the subjunctive mood in subordinate clauses implies a connotation of “possibility”, the action of the subordinate clause being viewed as “possible”, but not “certain”. In contrast, subordinate clauses with an indicative mood verb or an infinitive verb constitute “factual statements”. As shown in (16b), the subject of an indicative mood verb is necessarily specified, while the subject of an infinitive verb is by definition unspecified (16c). Accordingly, the example in (16a) suggests that there is a chance that the action of the subordinate verb will be performed, while (16b) suggests that it actually is being performed (see alternation between “help” and “helps” in the English glosses). In addition, the example in (16c) states the action of the subordinate verb as a fact, with no particular connotation (see notion of “factual statement”). You will observe that the subordinate conjunction kwamba/kuwa “that” is obligatory with “indirect clauses” in the indicative mood, as in (16b). (16) a. b. c.

Ni muhimu mtu fulani asaidie watoto “It is important that someone help the children” Ni muhimu kwamba mtu fulani anasaidia watoto “It is important that someone helps the children” Ni muhimu kusaidia watoto “It is important to help children”

88

Imperative and subjunctive moods

As shown in (17), subjunctive mood verbs may be used after main clause verbs in different tenses, while subordinate clause verbs in the present tense of the indicative mood are only used after a verb in similar tense/mood, as seen in (16b). You will observe that English generally makes a similar use of the subjunctive mood in this context, as shown by the absence of an “s” of the third person in the glosses (17a–b). (17) a. b.

Ilikuwa muhimu aamue mapema Itakuwa muhimu avichukue

“It was important that he decide early.” “It will be important that he take them”

While the alternation between the subjunctive and the indicative mood in subordinate clauses is relatively limited in Swahili, the alternation between the subjunctive and the infinitive verb is quite common, especially when the subject of the main clause is the same as the subject of the subordinate clause or the implicit subject of the infinitive verb. The examples in (18–20) illustrate the alternation between the subjunctive verb and the infinitive form in subordinate clauses involving the notion of “purpose”, while those in (21–22) show the exclusive use of the subjunctive form in the subordinate clauses involving a subject that is different from the subject of the main clause. To express the notion of “purpose”, the conjunction ili “in order to; so” is optional with subjunctive verbs, whereas it generally is obligatory before an infinitive verb, as shown respectively in (18a, 19a, 20a; 21–22) and (19b–20b). However, it is also optional before an infinitive verb following a main verb meaning “go to/come to”, as in (18b–c). (18) a. b. c. (19) a. b. (20) a. b. vs.

Ninaenda mjini (ili) nimwone kaka yake “I am going to town so I may see his brother” Ninaenda mjini (ili) kumwona kaka yake “I am going to town (in order to) to see his brother” Nimekuja mjini (ili) kumwona kaka yake “I have come to town (in order to) to see his brother” Mariam alifanya haraka (ili) afike mapema “Mariam hurried up so she might arrive early” Mariam alifanya haraka ili kufika mapema “Mariam hurried up in order to arrive early” Fanya haraka (ili) usichelewe darasani “Hurry up, so you may not be late to class” Fanya haraka ili kutochelewa darasani “Hurry up, in order not be late to class”

(21) Nitakupa karatasi (ili) uandike barua “I will give you a paper so you may write a letter” (22) Chemsha maji (ili) tupike ugali “Boil some water so we may cook stiff porridge” The subjunctive also alternates with the infinitive in subordinate clauses/phrases of “request” that typically follow main verbs such as -penda “like”, -taka “want/wish”, -omba

Imperative and subjunctive moods 89 “ask (for)”, -amuru “order”, -pendekeza “recommend”, -ambia “tell”, -shauri “advise”, or -sisitiza “insist”. In this context also, the subjunctive implies a connotation of “possibility”, as in the a.–b. series in (23–25), while the infinitive constitutes a “factual statement”, which just states facts, as shown with the c. series in (23–25). (23) a. b. c. (24) a. b. c. (25) a. b. c.

Ninataka usome hapa Ninataka nisome hapa Ninataka kusoma hapa Ungependa tusome au tusisome? Ungependa usome au usisome? Ungependa kusoma au kutosoma?

“I want you to read here” (lit. “I want that you read here”) “I wish that I may read here” “I want to read here” “Would you like us to read or not?” (lit. “Would you like that we read or not?”) “Would you like a chance to read or not?” “Would you like to read or not?”

Aliamuru niondoke/nisiondoke “He ordered that I would (not) leave” Aliniamuru niondoke/nisiondoke “He ordered me that I would (not) leave” Aliniamuru kuondoka/kutoondoka “He ordered me to (not) leave”

As observed with the glosses in (23a, 24a), after a verb expressing “desire”, the implicit subject of the subordinate clause appears as the object of the main clause in English. Accordingly, clauses such as “I want you to read” correspond to a literal translation of “I want that you read”. The prefix -nge- in (24) corresponds to the expression “would” (the conditional mood is described in Language note 17). The subjunctive/infinitive alternation is also observed after impersonal main clauses that express the notions of “necessity/obligation” and “preference”. This is typically the case with impersonal clauses that use nouns like lazima ~ sharti “(it is) a necessity/an obligation (that)” or “(it is) necessary/obligatory (that)”; adjectives like muhimu “(it is) important (that)”, afadhali ~ heri “(it is) preferable (that)”, and bora “(it is) better (that)”; and adverbs like vizuri “(it is) good (that)”. These impersonal clauses also may use verbs like kubidi ~ kupasa ~ kulazimu “to be obligatory/must”, and kufaa “to be beneficial”, which gives inabidi ~ yabidi “it is obligatory/necessary (that), must”, and inafaa ~ yafaa “it is beneficial (that)” (from i-na-bidi vs. i-a-bidi; i-na-faa vs. i-a-faa; with i-: impersonal “it”; contracted forms that use -a- instead of -na- in the present tense are informal). As shown in (26–30), the infinitive verb in the subordinate clause of impersonal constructions states facts with no particular connotation (see series in a.), while the verb in the subjunctive mood expresses the connotation of “possibility” (see series in b.). (26) a. b. (27) a. b.

(Ni) bora kutomsumbua kijana huyu (Ni) bora usimsumbue kijana huyu

“It is better not to bother this young person” “You had better not bother this young person”

(Ni) lazima kusoma kitabu hiki “It is necessary to read this book” (Ni) lazima kila mtu asome kitabu hiki “It is necessary that everyone read this book/Everyone must read this book”

90

Imperative and subjunctive moods

(28) a. b.

Inabidi/yabidi kuanza kazi mapema Inabidi/yabidi tuanze kazi mapema

“It is necessary to start working early” “It is necessary that we start working early/we must . . .”

(29) a. b.

Inafaa/yafaa kusoma kila siku Inafaa/yafaa msome kila siku

“It is beneficial to read every day” “It is beneficial that you read every day”

(30) a. b.

Itabidi/itapasa/italazimu kuondoka Itabidi/itapasa/italazimu tuondoke

“It will be necessary to leave” “It will be necessary that we leave”

In this context, the (implicit) subject of the infinitive or subjunctive verb may optionally be used as the “object” of the verbs of “obligation”, that is, kubidi ~ kupasa ~ kulazimu “to be necessary; must” and kufaa “to be beneficial”. The two options are shown in (31a, 32a) and (31b, 32b) respectively. In addition, the verb kupasa may appear in passive form (kupaswa “be compelled”), as shown in (33). (31) a. b. (32) a. b. (33) a. b.

Inatubidi/inatupasa/inatulazimu kuondoka “It is necessary for us to leave” Inatubidi/inatupasa/inatulazimu tuondoke “It is necessary (for us) that we leave” Inanipasa/Imenipasa kuondoka “It is/has been necessary for me to leave” Inanipasa/Imenipasa niondoke “It is/has been necessary (for me) that I leave” Ninapaswa/Nimepaswa kuondoka “I am/I have been compelled to leave” Ninapaswa/Nimepaswa niondoke lit. “I am/I have been compelled that I leave”

Depending on the meaning of the main verb, a subjunctive verb in the subordinate clause may also alternate with a verb in the indicative mood, the latter being a “factual statement” that just expresses facts. In addition to the example seen in (16), other cases of alternation between the subjunctive with the infinitive and/or the indicative are given (34–35). (34) a. b. c.

Ni bora tuondoke sasa Ni bora kwamba tunaondoka sasa Ni bora kuondoka sasa

“It is better that we leave now” “It is better that we are leaving now” “It is better to leave now”

(35) a. b.

Alisema nikusaidie Alisema kwamba ninakusaidia

“He said that I should help you” “He said that I (actually) help you”

As noted before, the conjunction kwamba/kuwa “that” is generally optional in the presence of a verb in the subjunctive mood expressing an “indirect request”. On the other hand, the conjunction is omitted in other subordinate clauses involving a subjunctive verb, as seen in (26–33). It is also important to note that subjunctive verbs are not used alone to express polite requests implying an immediate response (see imperative form in English).

Imperative and subjunctive moods 91 In such contexts, modal verbs such as kutaka “to want”, kupenda “to like/wish” may be used to introduce the verb in the subjunctive mood, as seen in (23–24). (36) Review exercise: subjunctive vs. infinitive or indicative in subordinate clauses: fill in the column “verb form” with the name of the appropriate form; translate the following sentences into Swahili. Function of the subordinate a.

Factual statement, with unspecified subject

b.

Connotation of “possibility”

c.

Factual statement, with specified subject

Verb form

Target glosses ( “in order to, so” = ili)

Swahili

i.

He wants me to write

i.

ii.

It is necessary to write

ii.

iii. It is important that he writes

iii.

iv.

It is important that he write

iv.

v.

It is necessary to not write

v.

vi. It is necessary that you don’t write

vi.

vii. We wish that we may write viii. It is necessary that you write ix. We came in order to write x.

We came in order to not write

xi. We are leaving so we may write xii. He wants to write xiii. We wish that we may not write

vii. viii. ix. x. xi. xii. xiii.

11.4. Verbs with “polite” vs. “direct” use of the imperative mood Three verbs have polite forms of the imperative, the regular form of the imperative being considered as directive and almost rude (see Table 11.3). Additional uses of the subjunctive will be given in Language note 24. Table 11.3 “Polite” vs. “direct” imperative Infinitive form

“Polite” imperative

vs.

“Direct” imperative

a.

kuleta “to bring”

vs.

b.

kuja “to come”

c.

kuenda “to go”

lete! “please bring!” leteni! “please bring! (you all)” njoo! “please come!” njooni! “please come! (you all)” nenda! “please go!” nendeni! “please go! (you all)”

leta “bring!” –– kuja “come!” kujeni “come! (you all)” kwenda “go!” kwendeni “go! (you all)”

vs. vs.

92

Imperative and subjunctive moods

11.5. Review exercise: around the topic of “exclamatory” commands (37) Match the sentences or words and read aloud. a. b. c. d. e. f.

Open the door! Bring some water! Call a doctor! Please, help me! Get out! Stop!/Stand up!

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi.

Simama! Toka nje! Mwite daktari! Fungua mlango! Tafadhali, nisaidie! Lete maji!

(38) Translate into Swahili (keep previous section covered). a. b. c. d. e. f.

Get out! Please, help me! Open the door! Stop!/Stand up! Bring some water! Call a doctor!

11.6. Application exercises (39) Fill in the blanks, using the verb in parentheses. For each sequence of three (a–c; d–f ), use once the infinitive, the subjunctive, and the present indicative form. Translate into English. a. b. c.

Ni vizuri _______ sasa. Ni bora _______ sasa. Ni muhimu kwamba _______ sasa.

(“they”; -pumzika) (-pumzika) (“they”; -pumzika)

d. e. f.

Alisema kwamba ni vizuri _______ mapema. Alisema kwamba _______ mapema. Aliomba kwamba _______ mapema.

(-ondoka) (“I”; -ondoka) (“I”; -ondoka)

(40) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

Salima, please, I ask you to pardon me. Keep walking. Don’t stop. Do you want me to go out? It is important that he sees his friends every weekend. Where should we go? The play is beginning. Let’s enter. Please don’t (you all) close this door. I want them to leave. It is important that she see a doctor. Sleep well! (later). (Hint: salama.)

Imperative and subjunctive moods 93

11.7. Cumulative exercises (41) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m.

Don’t trust Hamisi. He is a big hypocrite. Tell him to write me a letter. (Hint: kuandikia.) Lela, would you like us to go to the cinema? I advised her not to take that bus, but she did not listen. What should I write here? Write your name and your address. Professor, what work do you want us to do? Write (you all) a summary. You had better study a lot if you want to succeed. If you want to see lions, you should go to the game reserve. My friend is sick. I must take him to the hospital. I am learning Swahili so that I may speak with Swahili people. Ask the boys not to make noise. The person who took my computer should bring it back. Please put the remaining milk in the fridge (lit. “Please put the milk that will remain in the fridge”).

12 Monosyllabic verb stems and the stem augment ku-

12.1. Monosyllabic verb stems and the retention of the prefix kuSwahili verb stems generally have two syllables or more. There are only nine verb stems that have one syllable, which are listed in (1). (1) Swahili monosyllabic verb stems a. b. c.

kuja “to come” kula “to eat” kunywa “to drink”

d. e. f.

kuwa “to be; to become” kupa “to give to” kufa “to die”

g. h. i.

kunya “to defecate; to drop (rain)” kucha “to dawn” kucha “to fear” (obsolete)

Contrary to verb stems that have more than one syllable, monosyllabic verb stems retain the infinitive prefix ku- when conjugated in most tenses, as in (2a, 2c). However, when an object pronoun is prefixed to a monosyllabic stem, the prefix ku- is omitted, as shown in (2b, 2d). (2) Absence of the prefix ku- in the presence of an object pronoun a. b. c. d.

Tu-ta-kunywa chai (retention of prefix ku-) Tu-ta-i-nywa (-i-: object pronoun “it”) Wa-na-o-kula ndizi (retention of prefix ku-) Wa-na-o-zi-la (-zi-: object pronoun “them”)

“We will drink tea” “We will drink it” “Those who eat bananas” “Those who eat them”

In addition, the segment ku- is retained in the simple imperative form of monosyllabic verbs, as in (3a, 4a), but omitted in the presence of a prefixed object pronoun, as in (3b, 4b) (see Table 11.3 for a special form of imperative used for kuja “to come”). (3) a. b.

Kula chungwa lako! Lile! (li-: object pronoun “it”)

“Eat your orange!” “Eat it!”

(4) a. b.

Kunywa chai! Inywe! (i-: object pronoun “it”)

“Drink the tea” “Drink it”

The alternation between the two elements suggests that, like the prefixed “object pronoun”, the prefix ku- discussed here is an extension of the monosyllabic stem.

Monosyllabic verbs and stem augment ku- 95 Therefore, it is considered a “stem augment” that gives a disyllabic structure to the stem. An “augment” is a particle added to a given word or part of the word without adding any additional meaning. Outside the imperative form and verb forms involving a prefixed object pronoun, the use of the stem augment ku- depends on the form of the tense/mood marker, rather than grammatical or semantic categories, as it appears in the following sections.

12.2. Stem augment ku- in monosyllabic verbs with a regular tense/mood marker In the absence of a prefixed object pronoun, the stem augment ku- proper to monosyllabic verb stems is found in all tenses with a regular tense/mood marker, that is, a prefix that comprises at least a consonant and a vowel, with the exception of /k/ and /u/. The examples in (5–7) illustrate the use of the stem augment ku- in different tenses/moods. The “conditional” mood mentioned in (6) is described in Language note 17. (5) Indicative mood: -li-, me-, na-, ta- (affirmative); -me-sha-/-ja- (“already”/“not yet”) a. b.

nilikula “I ate”; nimekula “I have eaten”; ninakula “I eat (~ I am eating)”; nitakula “I will eat” nimeshakula “I have already eaten”; sijakula “I have not yet eaten” (optionally: sijala)

(6) Conditional (-nge- “would”) a. b.

a-nge-kula/a-si-nge-kula tu-nge-kula/tu-si-nge-kula

“He would eat/He would not eat” “We would eat/We would not eat”

(7) Infinitive negative form (infinitive negation marker -to- + stem augment ku-) a. b. c. d.

ku-to-kuja ku-to-kula ku-to-kupa ku-to-kuwa

“To “To “To “To

not not not not

come/not coming” eat/not eating” give/not giving” be/not being”

The examples in (8–9) illustrate further the use of the prefix ku- in different tenses of the indicative mood. (8) Use of the stem augment ku- in the indicative mood (affirmative form). a. b. c. d.

Abdalla alikunywa pombe jana “Abdalla drank alcohol yesterday” Watoto wanakula nje “The children are eating outside” Rafiki zetu watakuja “Our friends will come visit us kututembelea kesho tomorrow” Juma, amka, kumekucha “Juma, wake up, it has dawned” (first ku- in ku-me-kucha: impersonal spatial/temporal subject pronoun; lit. “there has dawned”)

Monosyllabic verbs and stem augment ku-

96

(9) Use of the stem augment ku- in prefixed relative constructions a. b. c. d.

a-na-ye-kula/a-si-ye-kula wa-na-o-kula/wa-si-o-kula a-taka-ye-kula/wa-taka-o-kula a-li-ye-kula/wa-li-o-kula

“Who eats/Who does not eat” “Those who eat/Those who don’t eat” “(The one) who will eat/(Those) who will eat” “(The one) who has eaten/(Those) who have eaten”

As noted in (5b), the marker -ja- of the perfect negative is optionally used without the stem augment ku-, depending on the speaker.

12.3. Tenses that do not use the stem augment ku- with monosyllabic verb stems The tenses that do not use the stem augment ku- with monosyllabic verb stems are characterized by some morphologic peculiarities. First, there are those lacking a regular tense/mood prefix, that is, with a suffixed marker or a tense prefix reduced to a bare vowel, as shown respectively in Table 12.1, 1(a–c) and 12.1, 1(d). Second, there are those with a tense marker that is identical or partially similar to the stem augment ku-, that is, a tense/mood marker that comprises the consonant /k/ and/or the vowel /u/, as shown in Table 12.1, 2(a–d). Table 12.1 Form of the tense/mood marker and absence of the stem augment ku1. Tenses with suffixed verb marker or reduced tense marker a. b. c. d.

Present negative: -i Subjunctive: -e Suffixed relative: -ye/-o Present reduced marker: -a-

e.g. ha-tu-l-i; h-a-l-i e.g. tu-l-e; tu-si-l-e e.g. a-la-ye; wa-la-o e.g. n-a-la; tw-a-la

“we don’t eat; he does not eat” “let’s eat; let’s not eat” “who eats; who eat” “I am eating; we are eating”

2. Tenses with a marker identical or similar to the stem augment kua. b. c. d.

Past negative: -kuHabitual tense: huConsecutive tense: -kaConditional/“While”: -ki-

e.g. ha-tu-ku-la e.g. hu-la e.g. tu-ka-la e.g. tu-ki-la

“we didn’t eat” “I (~you, . . . they) usually eat” “(then) we ate” “if we eat/while (we) eating”

(The marker -ki- for “while” and “conditional” in d. is presented in Language notes 13.1. and 17.1. respectively.)

As seen before in (2b, d; 3b; 4b), the stem augment ku- is omitted in the presence of a prefixed object pronoun. Accordingly, the stem -pa “give to” does not use the stem augment ku- in conjugated forms, as they always use a prefixed object pronoun referring to the beneficiary of the action (10) (the infinitive form in negation uses the augment ku-, as seen in (7d)). As we will see further, monosyllabic verb stems that are extended with verb suffixes also do not retain the prefix ku- in their conjugation. (10) a. b.

A-li-ni-pa shilingi kumi Tu-ta-m-pa Juma salamu zako

“He gave me ten shillings” “We will give your greetings to Juma”

Monosyllabic verbs and stem augment ku- 97

12.4. Verb “be” in imperative and subjunctive forms: -wa vs. -kuwa This section illustrates the use of the stem augment with the verb kuwa “be”. The stem augment is present in the singular and the plural imperative forms, but absent in the subjunctive form (11–12). Like other verbs, the imperative for the verb “be” does not have a specific negative construction but uses the same form as the subjunctive, as shown in (12). The examples provided in (12b) show that the vowel /u/ of prefix mu- is dropped before the consonant /s/, following a general contact rule. However, it is preserved before -we, which prevents the realization of a monosyllabic word. (11) Imperative form of the verb “be” a. b.

Singular: Kuwa tayari! Plural: Kuweni tayari!

“Be ready!” “Be ready (you all)!”

(12) Subjunctive form of the verb “be” a. b.

Singular: Uwe (u-w-e) / Usiwe (u-si-w-e) “Please be/Please don’t be” Plural: Muwe (mu-w-e) / Msiwe (mu-si-w-e) “Please be/Please don’t be (you all)”

(13) Review exercise: Translate into Swahili (keep previous sections covered). a. b. c.

I don’t drink Drink! We have drunk

e. f. g.

d.

We drank

h.

Let’s drink We will drink I will not drink it (the water) We didn’t drink

i. j. k.

I drink it (the water) Don’t drink! Should I drink?

l.

We are drinking

12.5. Restrictions on the retention of the prefix kw- with the verbs kwenda/kwisha The restriction on the retention of the infinitive prefix in the presence of a suffixed marker with monosyllabic verbs seen in 12.3 is also observed with verbs that optionally retain the prefix kw- in some conjugated forms, that is, kuenda/kwenda “go” or kuisha/kwisha “finish (be finished); end; cease” mentioned in 11.3.2(7). Examples of optional retention are given in (14), while the absence of retention in the presence of a suffixed marker (i.e. the subjunctive -e, suffixed relative -ye/-o and the present negative -i) are given in (15). (14) a. b. c. d. e.

Tunakwenda/Tunaenda mjini Tutakwenda/Tutaenda mjini Hatutakwenda/Hatutaenda mjini Sala imekwisha/Sala imeisha Sala haijakwisha/Sala haijaisha

“We are going to the city” “We will go to the city” “We will not go to the city” “The prayer has ended” “The prayer has not ended”

(15) a. b. c. d.

Tusiende leo Aendaye kwao haogopi giza Mambo yaishayo Siku hizi hawaishi kugombana

“We should not go today” “He who is going home does not fear the dark” “Things that end” “They don’t cease quarreling these days”

98

Monosyllabic verbs and stem augment ku-

Interestingly, the subject pronoun tu- is optionally realized as tw- when used alone before the verbs kuenda/kwenda and kuisha/kwisha, as in (16), while other contexts and other verbs require exclusively the use of the form tu-, as in (17–18). (16) a. b.

Twende kesho/Tuende kesho Twishie hapa/Tuishie hapa

“Let’s go tomorrow” “Let’s end here”

(17) a. b.

Hatuendi Hatuishi kugombana

“We do not go” “They don’t cease quarreling”

(18) a. b.

Tuombe Tueleze

“Let’s pray” “Let’s explain”

The verbs kuenda/kwenda “go” or kuisha/kwisha “finish (be finished); end; cease” also apply restrictions of the segment kw- after a tense/aspect marker involving similar sounds (i.e. ku-, hu-, ka-, ki-), similar to the use of the stem augment among monosyllabic stems. Examples are given in (19). (19) a. b. c. d.

Havikuenda/Havikuisha Wao huenda/Hilo huisha Mwishoni tukaenda/kikaisha Tukienda/Kikiisha

(no (no (no (no

-kw-) -kw-) -kw-) -kw-)

“They did not go/They did not end” “They usually go/That ends” “Finally, we went/it ended” “If we go/If it finishes”

12.6. Syllabic interpretation of the stem augment ku- (advanced analysis) As mentioned in 3.3, Swahili words are accented on the second-to-last syllable and, therefore, are generally comprised of two syllables or more. It is generally understood that the retention of the infinitive prefix ku- in the imperative form of monosyllabic verb stems is motivated by word “disyllabic minimality” (e.g. [kú la] “eat!”, instead of *[lá]). It also seems possible to interpret the retention of the infinitive prefix ku- in other tenses with monosyllabic stems in terms of stem “disyllabic minimality”. Specifically, the subject pronoun and the tense/mood marker seem rhythmically autonomous from the stem, which means that the two segments tend to obey the principle of “disyllabic minimality” (see [σ σ | σ σ]; with the slash marking the boundary between the tense/mood markers and the stem). Accordingly, the retention of the infinitive marker ku- in the presence of a monosyllabic stem creates a “macro-stem” with a disyllabic structure. This new “macro-stem” can, therefore, bear the accent of the word, as in [tu na | kú la] “we are eating”. Similarly, when an object is attached to the stem, this creates a “macro-stem” able to bear the word accent, which makes the retention of the infinitive prefix ku- unnecessary, as in [tu na | kí la] “we are eating it” (object in class [ki-ki/vi-vi]). Verb-initial segments that do not comprise a tense/mood prefix and those which are monosyllabic do not appear rhythmically autonomous from the stem. With verb forms lacking a tense/mood prefix or with a tense prefix reduced to a bare vowel -a- as seen in Table 12.1, 1(d), the stem augment ku- is not needed because the stem is not subject to “disyllabic minimality”, as the verb is not rhythmically in two parts (see [σ́ σ], as in [tú le] “let’s eat” and [twá la] “we are eating”, or [σ σ́ σ], as in [ha tú li] “we don’t eat”). The absence of the stem augment after tense markers that have certain phonetic similarities with the prefix ku- of the stem augment seems justified by a form of sound reduction within

Monosyllabic verbs and stem augment ku- 99 sequences of identical or similar units, a rule that also applies with the verbs kuenda/kwenda and kuisha/kwisha as seen in (19) (see notion of “haplology”). The alternative interpretation would be to treat the presence of the stem augment after certain categories of tense markers as historical residue, that is, the tense markers that are currently prefixed to the stem were once autonomous auxiliaries and the infinitive prefix ku- was required with monosyllabic verbs in order to achieve word disyllabic minimality (Park 1997). While the notion of “autonomy” seems sensible, the use of the infinitive prefix in this context did not apply only to monosyllabic stems (as shown by the old Swahili sentence quoted by Park 1997: farasi zilikupita “horses passed by”), contrary to what is currently observed with the stem augment. In other words, the retention of the prefix ku- with monosyllabic stems appears essentially related to stem disyllabic minimality. Regarding the use of the prefix of the form tw- instead of tu- in (16), it appears that the former is incorporated in the rhythmic domain of the stem, as the semi-vowel is not syllabic in Swahili (see [twe nde] vs. [ha tu | e ndi] in (16, 17)). The interpretation in terms of rhythmic incorporation in the stem domain seems to apply to the cases in (15), which involve a suffixed marker. Contrastively, it appears that the retention of the prefix kw-, like in (14), enforces the frontier between the verb markers’ domain and the stem domain, by preventing vowel contact in that area (see [tu na | kwe nda], [i me | kwi sha]).

12.7. Application exercises (20) Convert affirmative sentences into negative and vice versa; translate the sentences you’ve written into English. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i.

Abdalla na Mariam watakunywa pombe leo. Rafiki yetu anakuja kututembelea. Kunywa maziwa haya! Kwa kawaida ninakula mkate asubuhi. Baada ya masomo, mimi sitakuwa daktari. Mgonjwa hajakunywa dawa? Mnyama mmoja alikufa. Vijana hawa wanakula vizuri; wana afya nzuri. Tumeshakuwa walimu.

12.8. Cumulative exercises (21) Translate into Swahili. Convert plural elements you’ve written into singular and vice versa, whenever possible (e.g. I ↔ we; one ↔ two). a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

Are your siblings coming today? No, they are not coming today. They will come on Tuesday. Give me that book. I will give you two dollars tomorrow. Has she eaten? No, she has not yet eaten. She will eat later. May we come today? No, don’t come today. I want the teacher to come first. If you feel thirsty, it is better that you drink water. (kama “if”) She does not drink milk. She drinks beer. Two birds did not eat today. When did you come? We came yesterday.

100

Monosyllabic verbs and stem augment kui. j. k. l. m. n. o. p. q. r.

Where were you? I was on vacation. Don’t be stupid. Eat this good food! Did your teacher give you homework? You will not eat before you have finished (lit. “before you have not finished”). The book you gave me yesterday is very good. My luggage is that one (lit. “My luggage is that”). You are our guests today. My sibling is little. Her parents have a very small house but two big cars. The little boy is trying to read.

13 Auxiliary verbs and the expression of complex tenses

In addition to the prefixed tense markers seen in Language note 6.1–3, some categories of verbs may be used in support of a main verb in order to put the occurrence of a given action or state in perspective. These types of verbs are generally referred to as auxiliaries.

13.1. Auxiliary “be” and the notions of “anteriority” or “simultaneity” The auxiliary verb kuwa “be” may be used before main verbs in various tenses to express the notion of “anteriority” or “simultaneity” between two actions or states, in the past or in the future. These types of constructions imply notions such as “by then”, “then/at that time”, or “in that time period”. In particular, the auxiliary kuwa “be” followed by a perfect tense verb (see marker -me-/ -ja- or -me-sha-/-ja- . . . bado) expresses an action or a state that was completed in the past or will have been completed in the future, in reference to another action or state, as shown in (1– 4). In the following examples (1– 4), you will observe that the negation of these types of clauses is generally marked on the main verb. Placing the marker on the auxiliary verb emphasizes the negation, denying any affirmative presupposition, as shown by the double negation in the English glosses in (1d, 2e, 3c). (1) a. b. c. d.

Nilikuwa nime(sha)ondoka Nilikuwa sijaondoka (bado) Alikuwa hakuja darasani Hakuwa ame(sha)ondoka

“I had (already) left” “I had not left (yet)” “He had not come to class” “(No), he had not left (yet)”

(2) a.

Nilikuwa nimechelewa, basi nikachukua teksi Watoto walikuwa wamelala Ulikuwa hujachelewa (bado) Watoto walikuwa hawajalala Watoto hawakuwa wamelala

“I was late, so I took a taxi”

(3) a. b. c.

Nitakuwa nime(sha)ondoka Nitakuwa sijaondoka Sitakuwa nime(sha)ondoka

“I will have (already) left” “I will not have left” “(No), I will not have left (yet)”

(4) a.

Utakuwa umechelewa; njoo mapema zaidi Nitakuwa sijachelewa Sitakuwa nimechelewa

“You will be late (by then); come earlier” “I will not be late (by then)” “(No), I will not be late (by then)”

b. c. d. e.

b. c.

“The children were sleeping” “You were not late (yet)” “The children were not sleeping” “(No), the children were not sleeping”

Auxiliary verbs and complex tenses

102

In addition, the auxiliary kuwa “be” followed by a present tense verb with the marker -na-/-ki- expresses an action that was ongoing in the past/recent past or that will be ongoing in the future, in reference to another action or state, as shown in (5–7). Nilikuwa ninasoma/nikisoma Nilipofika, alikuwa anakula/akila Tulikuwa tunacheza/tukicheza akaanguka Nilikuwa sina kazi wakati huo Sikuwa nina kazi wakati huo Hatukuwa tukicheza alipoanguka

“I was reading” “When I arrived, she was eating” “We were playing and he fell”

(6) a. b. c.

Nitakuwa ninasoma/nikisoma Nitakuwa sisomi wakati huo Sitakuwa ninasoma/nikisoma wakati huo

“I will be reading” “I will not be reading at that time” “(No) I will not be reading at that time”

(7) a. b. c.

Amekuwa anasoma/akisoma Amekuwa hasomi Hajakuwa anasoma/akisoma

“He has been reading” “He has not been reading” “(No) He has not been reading”

(5) a. b. c. d. e. f.

“I did not have a job at that time” “(No), I did not have a job at that time” “(No), we were not playing when he fell”

In this context, the compound tense with -ki- may refer to a repetitive action that used to take place, has been taking place, or will be taking place in the future (8). (8) a. b. c.

Nilikuwa nikimtembelea Nitakuwa nikimtembelea Nimekuwa nikimwita bila mafanikio

“I used to visit him” “I will be visiting him regularly” “I have been calling him without success”

(9) a. b.

Nilikuwa sisomi Nitakuwa sisomi

“I used to not read/I was not reading” “I will not be reading/not be reading regularly” “He has been not calling me for two months”

c.

Amekuwa haniiti kwa miezi miwili

In addition, the verb “be” in past or future tense may be associated with a main verb in subjunctive mood to express an action/state that was or will be expected to take place, as in (10–11). (10) a. b. c. d. e.

Nilikuwa niondoke Tulikuwa tuoane ndani ya miezi miwili Nilikuwa nisiondoke Sikuwa niondoke siku hiyo Hatukuwa tuoane ndani ya miezi miwili

“I was expected to leave” “We were expected to marry within two months” “I was expected not to leave” “I was not expected leave to that day” “We were not expected to marry within two months”

Auxiliary verbs and complex tenses 103 (11) a. b. c. d. e.

Nitakuwa niondoke Tutakuwa tuoane mwakani Nitakuwa nisiondoke Sitakuwa niondoke Hatutakuwa tuoane mwakani

“I will be expected to leave” “We will be expected to marry within the year” “I will be expected to not leave” “I will not be expected to leave” “We will not be expected to marry within the year”

13.2. Auxiliary verb -ngali “still be” and the notions of “still/anymore” and “still/yet” The notion of “still” is expressed in the present tense by placing the auxiliary verb -ngali “still be” before the main verb, in both the affirmative and the negative forms, as shown respectively in (12a) and (12b). The negative counterpart of “still”, that is, “anymore”, is expressed by placing the particle tena after a verb in the negative form, as in (13). On the other hand, the particle tena expresses the notion of “again” in the affirmative form, as shown in (14).

Ningali simwoni/Tungali hatumwoni

“I am/we are still seeing him; I/we still see him” “I/we still don’t see him”

(13) a. b.

Simwoni tena/Hatumwoni tena Sitamwona tena/Hatutamwona tena

“I/we don’t see him anymore” “I/we will not see him anymore”

(14) a. b.

Nilimwona tena/Tulimwona tena Nitamwona tena/Tutamwona tena

“I/we saw him again” “I/we will see him again”

(12) a. b.

Ningali ninamwona/Tungali tunamwona

In addition to the present tense, the auxiliary verb -ngali “still be” may be used with a verb that has the negative perfect marker -ja- to mean “still (has/have) not”, as in (15). (15) a. b.

Ningali sijaona/Tungali hatujaona Angali hajalala/Wangali hawajalala

“I/we still have not seen” “He still is not sleeping/They still are not sleeping”

The stem -ngali “still be” may also be used as the main verb in the affirmative form, for instance with an adjective or a noun, as in (16a–b). Conversely, the negative counterpart of this construction uses the contrastive/evocative verb siyo “is not” (seen in 10.10) and the particle tena placed in the final position of the clause (17). (16) a. b.

Jua lingali kali Mama yako angali/yungali mwalimu?

“The sun is still strong” “Is your mother is still a teacher?”

(17) a. b.

Jua siyo kali tena Mama yako siyo mwalimu tena?

“The sun is not strong anymore” “Is your mother not a teacher anymore?”

104

Auxiliary verbs and complex tenses

Alternatively, the notion of “still” may be expressed with the particle bado placed before a verb in the affirmative form (18a), whereas bado expresses the notion “not yet” when used with a verb in the negative form (18b). (18) a. b.

Bado ninasona/tunasoma magazeti “I am/we are still reading newspapers; I/we still read newspapers” Bado sisomi/hatusomi magazeti “I am/we are not reading newspapers yet; I/we don’t read newspapers yet”

As shown in (19–20), bado “still/not yet” may be used with the verb “be” in both the affirmative and the negative forms. However, this particle is generally placed in the final position of the clause after the contrastive/evocative verb siyo “is not” (20), while it may be placed before the verb or in the final position of the clause in the other contexts (18–19). (19) a. b.

Jua bado ni kali Mama yako bado ni mwalimu?

“The sun is still strong” “Is your mother still a teacher?”

(20) a. b.

Jua siyo kali bado Mama yako siyo mwalimu bado?

“The sun is not yet strong” “Is your mother not yet a teacher?”

13.3. Auxiliary verbs expressing the notion of “possibility” or “eventuality” In addition to kuwa “be”, other verbs are occasionally used to introduce another verb in the infinitive form, or colloquially reduced to a simple stem, in order to convey the notion of “possibility” or “eventuality” of the action. The most common of these verbs are: -wahi “arrive/handle in a timely manner → have a chance to”, -pata “get → have a chance to”, -ja “come → (do/be) eventually”, as shown in (21–23). (21) a. b. (22) a. b. (23) a. b.

Umewahi/umepata (ku)fanya kazi kama hii? “Have you had a chance to do work like this?” Rudi nyuma, tupate (ku)ongea “Come back, so we get a chance to talk” Soma, au/ama utakuja (ku)shindwa mtihani “Study, otherwise you will fail your exam eventually” Ikiendelea kunyesha, nguo zitakuja (ku)lowana “If it keeps raining, the clothes will be soaked eventually” Umeme ukija (ku)katika, tutaondoka “If the electricity cuts off eventually, we will leave” Ukija (ku)waona, uwape pesa hizi “If you see them eventually, give them this money”

These types of verbs also may express additional connotations depending on the context. Accordingly, -wahi “have a chance to” conveys the notion of “ever/never”, respectively, in interrogative and negative forms (24). The auxiliary -ja “(do/be) eventually” also expresses the notion of “eventual consequence”, when used in the negative subjunctive form. The main verb appears then with the marker -ka- of the consecutive form (25).

Auxiliary verbs and complex tenses 105 (24) a. b. c.

Umewahi kuwa na mchumba? “Have you ever had a fiancé?” Sijawahi kuwa na mchumba “I have never had a fiancé” Hatujawahi (ku)ona kitu kama hiki “We have never seen something like this”

(25) a.

Ninafanya mazoezi nisije nikashindwa mtihani “I am doing exercises so that I won’t fail my exam” Tuligoma ili wasije wakasahauliwa “We went on strike so that they would not be forgotten”

b.

In addition, the modal verb -weza “be able to” may express the notion of “have a chance to”, as shown in (26). (26) a. b.

Umeweza kumwona? “Have you been able/had a chance to see him?” Ingia uweze kuvisoma “Enter, so you have a chance to read them”

Finally, other verbs are occasionally used as auxiliaries to express notions such as “occurrence”, “frequency”, “imminence”, or “recentness” of the action. This is shown in (27–32) with -tokea “occur, happen → happen to do”, -penda “like → occur often”, -taka “want → be about to”, -elekea “be heading to → be about; nearly + verb”, -karibia “approach → be almost; nearly + verb”, and -toka “come from → have just done”. (27) Bila kujua, nimetokea kumpenda “Without expecting it, I happened to like him” (lit. “Without knowing”) (28) Sehemu hizi, mvua inapenda kunyesha mchana “In this area, it rains often in the afternoon” (29) Gari lilitataka kumgonga akanusurika “A car was about to hit him, but he escaped” (30) a. b. (31) a. b. (32) a. b.

Nyumba yake inaelekea kuanguka “His house is about to collapse” Swali hili lilielekea kunishinda “This question nearly failed me” Kazi ya ujenzi inakaribia kumalizika “The construction work is almost finished” Maelezo haya yalikaribia kunipoteza “These explanations nearly got me lost” Inaonekana umetoka kuamka “It appears that you have just woken up” Mwanangu ametoka kupona malaria “My child has just recovered from malaria”

106

Auxiliary verbs and complex tenses

13.4. Application exercises (33) Use the verbs in parentheses to fill in the blanks, expressing the connotations indicated in italics. For each sequence of four (a–d; w–z), the tense/mood markers must be different. Translate into English. a. b. c. d.

Nilikuwa Nilikuwa Nilikuwa Nilikuwa

_______ _______ _______ _______

(-soma, (-soma, (-soma, (-soma,

e. f. g. h.

Atakuwa Atakuwa Atakuwa Atakuwa

_______ _______ _______ _______

(-la, (-la, (-la, (-la,

“accomplished”) “ongoing”) “to occur”) “regularly occurring”)

“ongoing”) “to occur”) “accomplished”) “regularly occurring”)

(34) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m.

She has been (regularly) talking with our guests for three years. We have never had problems like these. Have you ever had a chance to visit New York? I have never seen dolphins. We will be waiting for you. If we happen to travel to East Africa, we will learn to sing taarab. So, you still have not bought the tickets? My computer is still bothering me. He is not my friend anymore. At that time I will have already left. The game will have already begun. The government has just refused their requests. I was traveling in Europe at that time.

13.5. Cumulative exercises (35) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m.

That year, I was studying a lot. My sister was still living with our parents. If you don’t close the door [use “if” + future tense], our luggage will end up falling. I don’t eat in restaurants anymore. When I arrived, she had already eaten. Can you still trust him? I have been doing my homework. She had worn red pants. He used to give him a lot of money. I had lived with him for four years. I will have finished my studies. For all that time, she was stealing the company’s money. When we arrived, he was angry.

14 Expressing comparison

Swahili expresses comparison in terms of “equality”, “superiority”, and “superiority to all”, in reference to an adjective or an adverb, which corresponds roughly to the formulas: “as [adjective/adverb] as”, “[adjective/adverb] more than” and “[adjective/adverb] more than all”.

14.1. Comparison in terms of “equality” Comparison in terms of “equality” uses the conjunction kama “as, like” or sawa na “similar to”, as shown in the examples that follow in (1). (1) Sample sentences expressing comparison in terms of “equality”

a. b. c.

kama ~ sawa na Kaka yangu ni mrefu mama Mji wenu ni mkubwa wetu Salima anakimbia haraka mimi

My brother is as tall as my mother Your city is as big as ours Salima runs as fast as me

14.2. Comparison in terms of “superiority” Comparisons which express superiority use the conjunctions zaidi ya “more than” and kuliko “rather than” (or zaidi kuliko “more; compared to”), and infinitive forms such as kupita “surpassing”, kuzidi “exceeding”, kushinda “beating (defeating)”, as shown in (2). (2) Sample sentences expressing “superiority” a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

kupita ~ kushinda ~ kuliko ~ kuzidi ~ zaidi ya Kenya ni ndogo Tanzania Kenya is smaller than Tanzania Ndizi ni tamu machungwa Bananas are sweeter than oranges Ninajua mambo mengi wewe I know more things than you Gari hili ni zuri lile This car is nicer than that one Vifaru ni wazito viboko Rhinos are heavier than hippos Dada yangu ni mwembamba shangazi My sister is thinner than our (paternal) aunt Leila anakimbia haraka Salima Leila runs faster than Salima Marekani ni mbali Ulaya America is farther than Europe

Expressing comparison

108

The conjunction zaidi may also be used alone, following an adjective or an adverb, to express an “implicit” comparison in terms of superiority, as in (3–4). (3) a. b.

Nani mrembo zaidi, Fatuma au Mariam? “Who is the prettier one, Fatuma or Mariam?” Kati ya wao wawili, Abdalla ni mnene zaidi “Between the two, Abdalla is the fatter one”

(4) Kati ya Juma na Hamisi, Juma ni mrefu zaidi “Between Juma and Hamisi, Juma is the taller one”

14.3. Comparison in terms of “superiority to all” or “superlative” comparison The “superlative” comparison uses the same comparators as the “superiority” comparison, with -ote “all” as the second term of comparison. In this context, -ote “all” adopts the class of the first term of comparison in the plural, which suggests an underlying structure of the form “X . . . [adjective/adverb] more than all Xs”. (5) Sample sentences expressing “superlative” comparison using -ote “all” kupita ~ kushinda ~ kuliko ~ kuzidi ~ zaidi ya a. b. c. d. e. f.

Chakula chako ni kitamu Jengo hili ni refu Lugha yetu ni nzuri Leila ni mrembo Hadija anakimbia haraka mpango huu ni mbaya

vyote (ki-ki/vi-vi) yote (ø-li/ma-ya) zote (n-i/n-zi) wote (mu-yu,a/wa-wa) wote (mu-yu,a/wa-wa) yote (mu-u/mi-i)

Your food is the most delicious This building is the tallest Our language is the best Leila is the prettiest Hadija runs the fastest This plan is the worst

In addition to expressing explicit comparison, the conjunction zaidi may be used alone, in exclamatory or locative phrases, to express implicit superiority to all (“the most/the best”). The two situations are respectively illustrated in (6a) and (6b). (6) a. b.

Kazi hii ni ngumu zaidi! Hoteli nzuri zaidi mjini Kampala ni ipi?

“This work is the most difficult!” “What is the best hotel in (the city of ) Kampala?”

Here, zaidi is comparable to other adverbs that express high intensity, such as kabisa “absolutely”, kweli kweli “truly”, sana “very much”, hasa “especially”, or mno “extremely; excessively”, or infinitive forms like kupita kiasi, literally “beyond measure, extremely”.

14.4. Application exercises (7) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d.

My house is smaller than yours. Lela is the tallest, but Salima is the cleverest (see mwerevu). I like writing more than reading. This book is better than that one.

Expressing comparison 109 e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l.

Pemba is closer than Nairobi. My brother is taller than me, but you are shorter than your sister. This house is as tall as that one. Dar es Salaam is bigger than Arusha. Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa. My room is bigger than yours, but my bed is smaller. Our city is the same as this one. This wall is thinner than that one.

14.5. Cumulative exercises (8) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

He had not yet finished. Have you ever visited Europe? Sorry, I must leave. Should I close the door? I returned home so that I should meet my maternal uncle. My mother likes white flowers but red clothes. These stores are clean but they don’t sell many things. Last year, I visited Europe with my fiancée. We saw many cities, like Rome and Paris, but we did not go to London. Maybe we will go next year. His house has wooden walls (lit. “walls of boards”), and a long stone fence (lit. “of stones”).

15 The passive form of the verb

15.1. Two types of passive markers: -w- in general vs. -iw-/-ew- in some contexts In Swahili, passive verbs are formed using the suffix -w- for most regular verb stems, and the suffix -iw-/-ew- for verb stems with certain peculiarities, such as monosyllabic stems, and stems ending in /l,w,y/ or with a vowel /i,e,u/. The form -ew- in particular is used depending on “vowel harmony”. Due to “vowel harmony”, a mid-vowel [e,o] in the initial syllable of the verb base triggers the use of a mid-vowel [e] in a neighboring verb extension, instead of the closed vowel /i/ (see vowel features in Figure 9.1). The example in (1b) illustrates the use of the regular passive marker -w-, while (2b) shows the use of the irregular marker -iw- with a verb stem ending in l-. (1) a. b.

Juma anasoma hadithi Hadithi inasomwa na Juma

(2) a.

Zamani Wajerumani waliitawala Tanganyika “Long ago, the Germans governed Tanganyika” Zamani Tanganyika ilitawaliwa na Wajerumani “Long ago, Tanganyika was governed by the Germans”

b.

“Juma is reading a story” “The story is being read by Juma”

As in English, passive clauses are formed in Swahili by switching the subject with the object of the active clause, as seen in (1–2). In addition, the agent of the passive clause is introduced by the conjunction na “by”, which is omitted if the agent is not explicitly mentioned (3b). That said, the passive form supposes the existence of an agent of the action, at least implicit (a similar construction that implies the absence of a specific agent will be seen in Language note 19.2). (3) a. b.

Kujenga nyumba Nyumba hii ilijengwa zamani

“To build a house” “This house was built long ago”

Depending on the context, the passive suffix -iw-/-ew- is preceded by an additional consonant -l-. The following sections classify different types of verb stems according to their use of passive markers.

The passive form of the verb 111

15.2. Regular verb stems: suffix -w- vs. -iw- for stems ending in /l,w,y/ Regular stems, that is, polysyllabic verbs ending in Consonant + a, generally use the passive suffix -w-, as shown in (4). However, those ending with /l,w,y/ are an exception, as they prompt the use of the irregular passive suffix -iw- (5). This is justified by a general restriction on */lw/, */ww/, */yw/ sequences in Swahili. (4) Use of the passive marker -w- with regular verb stems (except /l,w,y/ endings) a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

-soma -funga -beba -piga -zingira -pora -safisha

“read” “close” “carry” “beat” “surround” “rob; snatch” “clean”

→ → → → → → →

“be “be “be “be “be “be “be

-somwa -fungwa -bebwa -pigwa -zingirwa -porwa -safishwa

read” closed” carried” beaten” surrounded” robbed/snatched” cleaned”

(5) Use of the irregular passive suffix -iw- with verb stems ending in /l,w,y/ a. b. c. d.

-tawala -kulula -gawa -pwaya

“govern” “sweep away” “distribute” “pound”

→ → → →

“be “be “be “be

-tawaliwa -kululiwa -gawiwa -pwayiwa

governed” swept away” distributed” pounded”

15.3. Verbs ending in ia /ea or in i/e: -iw- vs. -l-iw-/-l-ew- for original disyllabic bases in ia/ea Polysyllabic verb bases ending in ia/ea and verbs of foreign origin ending in i/e generally use the passive marker -iw-. As shown in (6 –7), the vowel /i/ of the passive suffix -iwmerges with the preceding vowel /i,e/ in stem-final position, a process that seems justified by the phonetic identity/similarity between the two vowels (i-i → i; e-i → e; see the notion of “front vowel” in 9.1). (6) Polysyllabic verbs ending in ia/ea: passive suffix -iwa. b. c. d. e.

-zuia -zingatia -tegemea -zomea -hudumia

f.

-somea

“restrain” “consider” “rely on” “mock” “take care of” (huduma “service”) “read to” (-soma “read”)

→ → → → →

-zuiwa -zingatiwa -tegemewa -zomewa -hudumiwa

→ -somewa

“be restrained” “be considered” “be relied upon” “be mocked” “be taken care of” “be read to”

112

The passive form of the verb

(7) Foreign verbs ending in i/e: passive suffix -iwa. b. c. d. e. f.

-kubali -hitaji -samehe -kebehi -kodi -tii

“accept” “need” “pardon” “ridicule” “rent” “obey”

→ → → → → →

-kubaliwa -hitajiwa -samehewa -kebehiwa -kodiwa -tiiwa

“be “be “be “be “be “be

accepted” needed” pardoned” ridiculed” rented” obeyed”

Due to vowel merger, the passive suffix generally appears as /w/ with stems ending in ia/ea. It would be possible to interpret the original suffix as just -w-. However, this would make it more difficult to understand the form /liw/ or /lew/ observed with some stems ending in ia/ea. As shown in (8), original disyllabic stems ending in ia/ea use the passive suffix -iw-/-ewpreceded by a “furtive” consonant -l-. Some polysyllabic stems that naturally end in ia/ea also use the passive suffix -iw-/-ew- that is optionally preceded by a “furtive” consonant -l-, as shown in (9) (compare with general cases in (6c–d)). (8) Original disyllabic bases ending in ia/ea: passive suffix -iw- with a furtive “consonant” -la. b. c.

-tia -zia -lea

“put” “abstain from” “raise (child); rear”

→ -tiliwa (-til-iw-a) → -ziliwa (-zil-iw-a) → -lelewa (-lel-ew-a)

“be put” “be abstained from” “be raised (child)”

(9) Original polysyllabic bases ending in /ea/: passive suffix -ew- with a furtive -l- (exceptional) a.

-pokea “receive”

→ -pokewa/ “be received” -pokelewa (-pokel-ew-a) “get/be → -zoewa/ “become customary” accustomed” -zoelewa (-zoel-ew-a)

b.

-zoea

The consonant -l- mentioned above is called “furtive” because it appears in some contexts, while absent in others. It is analyzed as a “historical residue” because verb stems ending in ia/ea once had a consonant /l/ in second-to-last position. This consonant has disappeared in most contexts but reappears in some contexts, when the verb base is extended with a suffix (other cases are given in 18.3.2). An alternative interpretation is that the “furtive” consonant -l- is a liaison consonant between the stem and the suffix vowels. However, it remains unclear why a liaison consonant would apply selectively with some verb stems ending in ia/ea but not others.

15.4. Verbs ending in two vowels except i,e (aa, ua, oa, uu, au): -l-iw-/-l-ew(liaison consonant -l-) Verb stems with a vowel /a,o,u/ in second-to-last position, that is, native verbs ending in /aa/, /ua/, and /oa/ or foreign verbs ending in /uu/ and /au/, require the use of the suffix -iw- preceded by a consonant -l- (10–11). Since the use of this consonant after the vowels /u,o,a/ is systematic, applying even to verbs of foreign origin that originally had no consonant /l/ in their final syllable (11), it appears as a liaison consonant.

The passive form of the verb

113

(10) Liaison consonant -l- with the passive suffix -iw- for verbs ending in /aa/, /ua/, and /oa/ a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i.

-chagua -fungua -chukua -kataa -vaa -zaa -toa -jua -ua

“choose” “open” “take” “refuse” “wear” “give birth” “give” “know” “kill”

j.

-oa

“marry (men)”

→ → → → → → → → →

-chaguliwa -funguliwa -chukuliwa -kataliwa -valiwa -zaliwa -tolewa -juliwa -uliwa (also: -uawa) → -olewa

“be “be “be “be “be “be “be “be “be

chosen” opened” taken” refused” worn” born” given” known” killed”

“be married (women)”

(11) Liaison consonant -l- with the passive form -iw- for foreign verbs ending in /uu/ or /au/ a. b. c.

-sahau -dharau -nukuu

“forget” → -sahauliwa “disdain” → -dharauliwa “quote; transcribe” → -nukuliwa

“be forgotten” “be disdained” “be quoted, transcribed”

15.5. Foreign verbs ending with a single vowel /u/: -iwForeign verbs with a single final vowel /u/ use the passive suffix -iw-, with the deletion of the original stem-final vowel /u/, as shown in (12). (12) Passive form for foreign verbs with a single final vowel -u: -iwa. b. c. d.

-jaribu -jibu -laumu -hukumu

“try, attempt” “answer” “blame” “condemn”

→ → → →

-jaribiwa -jibiwa -laumiwa -hukumiwa

“be “be “be “be

tried; be attempted” answered” blamed” condemned”

15.6. Monosyllabic verb stems: -iw- vs. -ew- depending on verbs In passive form, the monosyllabic verb stems use the suffix -iw-, which appears as -ewdepending on the verb (13–17). You will observe that monosyllabic verb stems that are extended with a suffix, such as the passive suffix, follow the same rules as longer verb stems, that is, do not retain the prefix ku- in their conjugation. (13) -la (14) -cha vs. (15) -pa (16) -nywa (17) -nya

“eat” “fear”

→ -liwa (-l-iw-a) → -chiwa (-ch-iw-a)

“be eaten” “be feared”

“give” → -pewa (-p-ew-a) “be given” “drink” → -nywewa (-nyw-ew-a) “be drunk (beverage)” “defecate; drop (rain)” → -nyewa (-ny-ew-a) “be dropped”

114

The passive form of the verb

15.7. Origin of the suffix -ew- with monosyllabic stems (advanced analysis) A comparison with other Bantu languages suggests that the verb bases for “give” and “drink” in Swahili were originally *-pá- and *-nyó- respectively (Guthrie 1967–1971). The use of the vowel /e/ in the passive suffix of these two verbs is explained by the contraction between the archaic verb base vowels *a, *o, and *e with the suffix vowel /i/, that is, *a + i → e, *o + i → we, and *e + i → e (see *-pa-iw-a → -pewa “be given”; *-nyo-iw-a → -nywewa “be drunk [beverage]”; *-nye-iw-a → -nyewa “be dropped”). On the other hand, the bases for “eat” and “fear” originally had a vowel /i/, which merged with the identical vowel of the passive suffix -iw- (see *-li-iw- → -liwa “be eaten”; *-ci-iw→ -ciwa “be feared”).

15.8. Summary and review exercise: passive markers according to the form of the base verb (18) Based on indications from column A, fill in column B using all the verbs listed here, along with their passive forms: kupokea “receive”; kukubali “accept”; kusafisha “clean”; kutawala “administer”; kusomea “read to”; kufungua “open”; kubeba “carry”; kugawa “distribute”; kung’oa “uproot”; kula “eat”; kuzingatia “consider”; kutia “put”; kunywa “drink”; kudharau “disdain”; kusamehe “pardon”; and kulaumu “blame” (keep previous sections covered). A Passive markers suffixes depending on the form of the base verb a.

Polysyllabic verbs ending in Consonant + a: -w- (except verbs ending /l,w,y/)

b.

Verb stems ending in /l,w,y/: -iw-

c.

Polysyllabic verbs ending in /ia,ea/ or /i,e/: -iw- (i-i → i; e-i → e)

d.

Original disyllabic stems ending in ia/ea: -l-iw-/-l-ew-

e.

Verbs ending in two vowels, except i/e (aa, ua, oa, uu, au): -l-iw-/-l-ew-

f.

Verbs ending with a single vowel /u/: -iw(u-i → i)

g.

Monosyllabic stem: -iw- or -ew- , depending on verbs

B Base verb → Passive verb

The passive form of the verb

115

15.9. Application exercises (19) Fill in the blanks using the passive form of the verb in parentheses conjugated in the perfect tense and translate into English. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i.

Barabara zote _____________ maji (kuharibu). Choo hiki _______________ wageni (kutumia). Kiongozi wetu ______________ watu wengi (kuteua). Maombi yetu yote __________________ (kukataa). Nyumba yetu _____________ serikali (kubomoa). Tiketi ______________ hapa (kuuza). Vitabu ______________ maktabani (kurudisha “return”). Watoto ______________ dawa asubuhi (kupa). ______________ nini leo? (kusumbua, “you”).

15.10. Cumulative exercises (20) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. p. q.

All the food has been eaten by the children. My money has been taken by my brother. Our president will not be forgotten. Swahili is spoken in many countries. That country was liberated by a few patriots. This food has been cooked by my parents. We have not been forgiven. Had you started your work already? That year, I was living with my parents. My purse has been stolen by a pickpocket. Hadija has been given a gift by her fiancé. The eggs have been eaten by our guests. My younger sister is not married. The classroom has been prepared by the students. We have been told about this incident by our neighbor. We have been raised by our (paternal) aunt. We are paid five hundred and sixty dollars per month.

16 Locative agreement and coordinated noun agreement

16.1. Locative agreement prefixes vs. noun prefixes As seen in 7.2, the suffix -ni added to a non-animate noun produces a locative connotation (e.g. darasa “classroom” vs. darasani “in/into/from the classroom”, depending on the associated verb). In the presence of a suffix -ni, the regular class of the noun does not apply. Instead, nouns with a suffix -ni prompt the use of the locative agreement prefixes pa-, ku-, or mu- with adjectives, pronouns, and verbs. As we will see below (16.3), these types of agreement patterns can be triggered by some locative prepositions as well. Therefore, they are not considered as regular noun classes. As shown in Table 16.1, the locative agreement prefix pa- involves the notion of location to a “specific point” (“right here; right there; right over there”), ku- refers to the notion of “general area” (“around here; around there; around over there”), while mu- refers to the notion of location “inside something” (“in here; in there; inside, over there”), similar to the locative reference pronouns -po, -ko, -mo seen in 7.2. Table 16.1 Use of locative agreement patterns Locative prefix

Suffix -ni and locative agreement with adjectives, pronouns, and verbs

a. pa(Specific point)

i. Kitini hapa pana mito miwili. Ninapapenda sana “On this chair there are two pillows. I like it here very much” ii. Mjini hapa pana majengo mengi ya mawe. Panapendeza “Here in town, there are many stone buildings. It is nice here” i. Mlimani kule kuna nyoka; ninakuogopa “On that mountain over there, there is a snake; I am afraid of that place” ii. Nchini kwetu kuna magari mengi makubwa “In our country, there are many big cars” i. Shimoni mle mna nyoka. Ninamuogopa “In that hole over there is a snake. I am afraid of that place” ii. Chumbani humu mna taa tatu “In this room there are three lamps”

b. ku(General area) c. mu(Inside)

As seen in Table 16.1 and in (1c), the particle -na of the verb “have” conveys the notion of “presence” when used with a locative prefix, rather than “possession” (see “be right there”, “be there”, or “be in there”). Such expressions follow the structure “X place has Y thing”. Similar to the locative reference pronouns -po, -ko, -mo seen in 7.2, the “general location” prefix ku- may replace the “punctual location” prefix pa- and the “location inside” prefix

Locative and coordinated noun agreement

117

mu-, except in cases of locative agreement involving an adjective or a pronoun (seen in Table 16.1 and in (4) below). Examples of these types of alternations are given in (1–2). (1) a. b.

Mezani pana/kuna vyombo Mezani hapana/hakuna vyombo Mfukoni mna/kuna viazi Mfukoni hamna/hakuna viazi

(2) a.

Fut.:

b.

past:

“On the table there are dishes” “On the table there are no dishes” “In the bag there are potatoes” “In the bag there are no potatoes”

Mezani patakuwa/kutakuwa na vyombo; “There will be dishes on the table” Mezani hapatakuwa/hakutakuwa na vyombo “There will be no dishes on the table” Mfukoni mlikuwa/kulikuwa na viazi “There were potatoes in the bag” Mfukoni hamkuwa/hakukuwa na viazi “There were no potatoes in the bag”

With the verb “have”, the locative agreement prefix ku- may be used in impersonal constructions, that is, without a referent noun or a pronoun serving as the subject of the sentence. It then expresses the general notion of “existence” or “being there”, as shown in (3). (3) a. b.

Kuna chai leo? Hakuna chai leo

“Is there any tea today?” “There is no tea today”

In noun/adjective and noun/pronoun agreement, the locative prefix ku- is restricted to the notion of “general area”, that is, “around here, around there, over there around”, while pa- refers to the location at a “specific point”, and mu- refers to the location “inside something”. The examples in (4) illustrate the use of locative agreement prefixes ku-, mu-, and pa- triggered by the suffix -ni among pronouns and adjectives. You will observe that the locative agreement is used with descriptive adjectives only after the verb “be”, as shown with kuzuri, kubaya, and mbaya in (4a–c). With the conjunction -a also, the locative agreement is used only when the former has a “possessive” meaning, as in (4a, d, f ). The conjunction -a with a descriptive implication (i.e. expressing more than the simple notion of possession; e.g. -a “for” vs. “of”) requires the use of regular agreement, as shown (4g–h). (4) Examples of locative agreement with the prefixes ku-, mu-, and paa. b. c. d.

Nyumbani kwangu/kwa Juma ni kuzuri, lakini kuna mbu “At my home/At Juma’s home it is nice, but there are mosquitoes” Mlimani kote ni kubaya “It is ugly everywhere on the mountain” Garini mwake ni mzuri; mna redio na televisheni “In his car it is nice; there is a radio and a TV” Sebuleni mwa Lela mna picha za familia kutani “In Lela’s living room, there are family pictures on the walls”

Locative and coordinated noun agreement

118

e. f. g. h.

Nyumbani mote mna moshi mzito “In the entire house there is a heavy smoke” Kitini pa Juma pana mto “On Juma’s chair there is a pillow” vs. Katika nyumba ya kijani/ya kwanza . . . ya kulia “In the green/the first house . . . on the right” Ndani ya gari la bluu/la pili . . . la kushoto “In the blue/the second car . . . on the left”

Expressions such as nyumbani kwa seen in (4a) or nchini kwetu “in our country” seen in Table 16.1(b) may be used without the locative noun, as shown in (5). (5) Elliptical use of the pronoun kwa and ku- + possessive a. b. c. d.

Jana nililala kwa mzee Juma “Yesterday I slept at elder Juma’s home” Ninatoka kwa shangazi Leila “I am coming from Aunt Leila’s place” Kwetu kuna miti ya matunda “At our place/in our country, there are fruit trees” (lit. “At ours”) Kwao hawana umeme “In their home/country they have no electricity” (lit. “At theirs”)

In addition, the locative possessives like those seen above in (5c–d) may be used in association with the possessive conjunction -a “of” to emphasize the notion of possession, as shown in (6b–c). (6) a. b. c.

Watu hawa ni wa kwetu “These people are from back home/our country” Kitabu hiki ni cha kwako? “Is this book from your place?/ yours?” Kompyuta hii ya kwangu haifai kabisa “This computer of mine is completely worthless”

The word mahali “place; location” is the only noun that inherently prompts the use of a locative agreement, without the presence of the suffix -ni. In general, it is used with the agreement prefixes [pa-pa] as shown in (7), but [mu-mu] and [ku-ku] may also be used, depending on the implied meaning (location “inside” or in a “general area”). (7) Locative agreement triggered by the term mahali “place; location” a. b. c.

Mahali hapa ni pazuri, lakini pamejaa watu “This place is nice, but it is full of people” Mahali hapa ni pazuri; pananipendeza sana “This place is nice; it pleases me a lot” Mahali pale pana nyoka; ninapaogopa. “In that place there is a snake; I am afraid of that place”

Locative and coordinated noun agreement

119

(8) Review exercise: Fill in the blanks, using a different class for each line, and translate into English (keep previous sections covered). a. b. c.

mezani ___le ___na maua nina___penda mahali ___le ___na nyoka nina___ogopa chumbani ___le ___na maua nina___penda

16.2. Locative demonstrative pronouns vs. locative reference pronouns Like other demonstratives, locative demonstratives are distinguished in terms of proximity to the first and second speaker as shown in Table 16.2 (“near me”, “near you”, vs. “away from you and me”). As seen in Table 16.2, the vowel of the initial segment (hV-) of the locative demonstratives meaning “near me” and “near you” depends on the vowel of the following class prefix, similar to the demonstrative pronouns of the regular classes previously seen in Tables 5.3 and 5.4 (see hapa (ha-pa), huku (hu-ku); hapo (ha-pa-o); huko (hu-ku-o) vs. pale (pa-le), kule (ku-le), mle (mu-le)). Table 16.2 The locative demonstrative pronoun in terms of proximity Prefix a. b. c.

Stem→

pa-: specific point ku-: general area mu-: inside

– (near me)

-o (near you)

-le (away from you and me)

hapa “here” huku “around here” humu “inside here”

hapo “there” huko “around there” humo “inside there”

pale “over there” kule “over there (around)” mle “inside, over there”

It should be noted that the terms mji “city” and nchi “country” are sometimes referred to as closed spaces, which justifies the use of the locative prefix mu- (see phrases such nchini humu/nchini huku “in this country”, mjini humo/hapo mjini “in that city, there in town”). Contrary to the locative demonstratives, the locative reference pronouns -po, -ko, -mo previously seen in 7.2 are only used in combination with another segment. In particular, they may combine with the conjunction na- “and; with” or the contrastive/evocative verb ndi/si- “be/be not”. Table 16.3 shows the combination involving the conjunction na, while the examples in (9–11) show the combination with ndi-/si- (see ndipo/sipo “[right] here is [not] the place . . .”, ndiko/siko “this is [not] the place . . .”, ndimo/simo “in here is [not] the place . . .”). Additionally, the examples in (9–11) show the use of locative object markers entailed by the object relative construction (the term “object marker” is defined in 10.2). Table 16.3 Conjunction na with locative reference pronouns na + Pron.

Examples

Meaning

a. b.

napo nako

c.

namo

Hapa napo wanauza vinywaji. Kusafiri kwenda Ulaya kunahitaji viza. Marekani nako, bei ni kubwa. Siwezi kulala sebuleni. Chumbani namo ni joto mno.

Here also they sell drinks Traveling to Europe requires a visa. As for America, the price is high I can’t sleep in the living room. As for the bedroom, it is too hot

120

Locative and coordinated noun agreement

(9)

a. b.

Hapa ndipo wanapokaa. Hapa sipo wanapokaa.

“Here is where they live” “Here is not where they live”

(10) a. b.

Humu ndimo anamokaa Humu simo anamokaaa

“In here is where he lives” “In here is not where he lives”

(11) a. b.

Marekani ndiko tunakotoka. Marekani siko tunakotoka.

“America is where we come from” “America is not where we come from”

Following the pattern observed with locative classes in 10.10, the locative reference pronouns -po, -ko, -mo may also be suffixed to the pronoun -ingine “other” used in locative classes, which gives penginepo/kwingineko “somewhere else (specific/general area)” and mwinginemo “inside somewhere else” (with pa-, ku-, mu- becoming pe-, kw-, mw- due to the contact with the initial vowel of the stem /i/). In addition, the locative agreement prefixes may be used with the stem -o-ote “any”, which gives popote, kokokote, momote (rare) “anywhere (specific/general area/inside)”.

16.3. Locative prepositions Similar to the suffix -ni, locative prepositions may refer to the location at a specific point, in a large area, or inside something. Accordingly, they trigger the use of the agreement prefixes pa-, ku-, or mu- based on their inherent meanings, as shown in (12). The most common locative prepositions are: juu ya “over; on; on top of ”, chini ya “under; beneath”, kwenye “on; at; to; in (physical space)”, mbele ya “in front of ”, nyuma ya “behind”, karibu na “close to”, mbali na “far from”, kando ya “beside; aside; along”, baina ya “between (x and y)”, ndani ya “inside”, or katika “in”. (12) a. b. c. d.

Mbele ya nyumba yake panapendeza sana lit. “In front of his house, it is very nice” Ndani ya/Kwenye chumba hiki mnanuka lit. “Inside this room, it stinks” Katika/Kwenye misitu mikubwa kunatisha lit. “In large forests, it is scary” Karibu na nyumba kunavutia lit. “Near the house, it is pleasant”

Contrary to the suffix -ni seen in (4) and in Table 16.1, the locative prepositions do not prompt the use of the locative agreement pattern within a given noun group. Here, the pronouns directly agree with their head-noun, as seen with chako, yangu, yote, and yetu in the a. series of the examples in (13–16). In addition, noun groups comprising a locative preposition may be associated with a locative phrase expressing “existence”, as seen with kuna, mna, and pana (13–16). Similar to other phrases that do not involve a locative agreement with an adjective or a pronoun, in these types of constructions the “general” location prefix ku- may be substituted to its “inside”/“punctual” counterparts mu- and pa-. This is shown with the a. series in (13–15). (13) a. b.

Juu ya kiti chako pana/kuna nzi Kitini pako pana nzi

“On your chair, there is a fly” “On your chair, there is a fly”

Locative and coordinated noun agreement 121 (14) a. b. (15) a. b. (16) a. b.

Katika nyumba yangu mna/kuna vyoo viwili “In my house, there are two bathrooms” Nyumbani mwangu mna vyoo viwili “In my house, there are two bathrooms” Katika nyumba yote mna/kuna karatasi lit. “In the whole house, there are papers” Nyumbani mote mna karatasi lit. “In the whole house, there are papers” Katika nchi yetu kuna miji mingi mizuri “In our country, there are many nice cities” Nchini kwetu kuna miji mingi mizuri “In our country, there are many nice cities”

The locative prepositions involving the conjunction ya may also be used without the noun to which they refer. In this situation, the base -a of the conjunction is replaced with different possessive pronouns when referring to an animate noun (-angu, -ako, -ake . . . -ao), while the possessive -ake is used in both singular and plural for non-animate nouns, as in (17b) (e.g. mbele yetu “in front of us; ahead of us”; chini yangu “beneath me”; ndani yake “inside it/them [non-animate]”; juu yake “on top of it/them [non-animate]”). A similar use of -ake with non-animate nouns was observed with regular class agreement in 5.2. (17) a. b.

Mbele yangu/yao, watoto wamesimama “In front of me/them, children are standing” Juu yake pana/kuna vitabu “On top of it/them, there are books” (e.g. of the table[s])

With distance/proximity prepositions, such as mbali na/karibu na, the conjunction na may be used with a suffixed reference pronoun in all classes (e.g. mbali naye/na yeye, ~ nao/na wao; ~ nacho, ~ navyo “away from him/her, them; it, them” for a [ki-ki/vi-vi] noun), or a reduced contrastive pronoun for the first and the second person (e.g. karibu nami/na mimi, ~ nasi/na sisi, ~ nawe/na wewe, ~ nanyi/na nyinyi “near me, us, you, you all”). These two types of constructions trigger locative agreement patterns similar to their counterparts with a noun seen previously in (12).

16.4. Restrictions in the use of locative prepositions and the locative suffix -ni In general the locative suffix -ni is preferred to the locative prepositions in expressions meaning more than the simple notion of location, as in (18a, 19a). (18) a. b.

Tunaenda nyumbani Tunaenda katika nyumba

“We are going home” lit. “We are going in a house”

(19) a. b.

Ninakaa mjini Ninakaa katika mji

“I live in town” “Literally: I live in a town”

122

Locative and coordinated noun agreement

Importantly, the locative agreement is excluded when the noun group comprises a descriptive adjective, a numeral adjective, or a possessive conjunction -a with descriptive implication, as previously seen in (4g–h). In order to prevent the use of the locative agreement in such a context, a locative preposition is used rather than the locative suffix -ni as shown in (20–22). (20) Kwenye meza ndogo kuna vitabu. “On the small table(s) there are books” (21) Katika/Kwenye vyumba vitatu vile mna/kuna meza na vitanda. “In those small rooms there are tables and beds” (22) Nilinunua kofia hii katika duka la nguo. “I bought this hat in a clothing store (lit. “in a store for clothes”) As mentioned before (7.2), the suffix -ni is not used with proper nouns for places. Locative prepositions are also generally omitted in this context, as shown in (23). In addition, locative markers are disallowed with common nouns used as adverbs, as shown in (24). (23) a. b.

Nimezaliwa Ulaya. Sasa ninaishi Mombasa. Nimefika Zanzibar jana. “I was born in Europe. Now I live in Mombasa. I arrived in Zanzibar yesterday” Mimi ninatoka Mtaa wa N’krumah, mjini Dar es Salaam. Sasa ninaenda Pemba. “I come from N’krumah Street, in the city of Dar es Salaam. Now, I am going to Pemba”

(24) Walifika asubuhi/mchana/jioni/usiku. “They arrived in the morning/afternoon/evening/night” The locative suffix -ni is optionally omitted when referring to familiar places that imply the notion of “service” (rather than simple location), while the use of a preposition is excluded (25). The same situation is observed with nouns referring to a certain “activity” when used with a verb of movement, as shown in (26). In addition, the locative suffix -ni is omitted with some recent terms of foreign origin, such as sinema “movie; movie theater”, posta “post office”, or stendi “bus stand” (27). (25) a. b. (26) a. b. c.

Leila ni mgonjwa; lazima tumpeleke hospitali/hospitalini. “Leila is sick; we must take her to the hospital” Nilienda shule/shuleni (kwa) miaka kumi “I went to school for ten years” Leo nitaenda mazoezi/mazoezini “Today, I will go to the gym” (lit. “to the exercises”) Yeye hurudi kazi/kazini saa nane “He usually returns to work at two o’clock” Nchi iliingia vita/vitani mwaka huo “The country entered into war that year”

Locative and coordinated noun agreement 123 (27) a. b. c.

Ninataka upeleke barua hii posta “I want you to take this letter to the post office” Nilimwona akitoka sinema “I saw him while he was coming from the movie” Tutafika stendi saa tatu u nusu “We will arrive at the bus stand at 9 o’clock”

The locative suffix -ni also appears incompatible with locative constructions that imply a part/whole relationship (28). (28) a. b.

Usiweke sukari kwenye chai “Don’t put sugar in the tea” Je, umeongeza maji kwenye mchuzi? “Have you added water to the sauce?”

16.5. Directional prepositions Like the locative prepositions, directional prepositions, such as “from . . . to” or “from . . . until”, do not require a locative agreement, that is, pa-, ku-, mu- with possessives (29–30). You will observe that directional prepositions are generally correlated, though their parts may appear alone (29b, 30b). (29) Use of kutoka/toka . . . hadi/mpaka/kufika “from . . . to (directional)” a. b.

Kutoka/toka kijiji chetu hadi/mpaka/kufika nyumba yake ni safari ya masaa mawili. “From our village to his house it is a two-hour trip” Jana nilitembea hadi/mpaka/kufika Barabara ya Saba. lit. “Yesterday, I walked until (I reached) Seventh Street”

(30) Use of tangu/kutoka . . . hadi/mpaka “from . . . until ~ to (temporal)” a. b.

Tangu 2005 hadi/mpaka mwaka 2008, watu wengi walitutembelea. “From 2005 to 2008, many people visited us” Tangu lini umekaa hapa? “Since when have you been living here?”

The directional prepositions kutoka “from” and kufika “to” mean literally “coming from” and “arriving at”, based on the meaning of the infinitive verbs, that is, “to come from” and “to arrive (at)”. Similarly, when used after a verb of movement, kuelekea (“to face, to head to”) means “heading to, in the direction of” (31). (31) a. b.

Tulitembea kutoka/kufika ufukwe Tulitembea kuelekea ufukwe

“We walked from/to the beach” “We walked in the direction of the beach”

16.6. Conjoined nouns and meaning-based class agreement Nouns that are conjoined using a conjunction such as na “and” prompt the use of class agreement based on the distinction between nouns for animates, proper nouns for non-animates, and nouns for things (vitu). Accordingly, conjoined nouns for animates in

124

Locative and coordinated noun agreement

the singular, that is, in subclass [mu-yu,a], prompt the use of class agreement in the plural form the animate class, that is, [wa-wa] (32a–b). (32) a. b.

Mvulana na mbwa wanacheza “The boy and the dog are playing” Mtoto na mama wamefika “The child and the mother have arrived” [mu-yu,a] + [mu-yu,a] → [wa-wa]

On the other hand, conjoined proper nouns for non-animates trigger agreement in subclass [n-zi], while equivalent single nouns belong to class [n-i], as shown respectively in (33b) and (33a). In addition, both single and conjoined proper nouns optionally prompt the use of the [wa-wa] subclass when they implicitly refer to people, as respectively shown in (34a) and (34b). (33) a. b.

(34) a. b.

Uingereza imeshinda/Ujerumani imeshinda “England has won/Germany has won” Uingereza na Ujerumani zimeshinda [n-i] + [n-i] → [n-zi] “England and Germany have won” Uingereza wameshinda “England has won” (lit. “they have won”) Uingereza na Ujerumani wameshinda [wa-wa] + [wa-wa] → [wa-wa] “England and Germany have won”

Conjoined common nouns for non-animates, even those belonging to the same class, prompt the use of class [vi-vi], which appears an implicit reference to the notion of vitu “things” (35–39). (35) a.

Mlango na mti vimeanguka [mu-u] + [mu-u] →[vi-vi]

“A door and a tree have fallen down”

(36) b.

Milango na miti vimeanguka [mi-i] + [mi-i] → [vi-vi]

“Doors and trees have fallen down”

(37) Uma na wembe vimeanguka [mu-u] + [mu-u] → [vi-vi]

“A fork and a razor have fallen down”

(38) Dirisha na dari vimeanguka [ø-li] + [ø-li] → [vi-vi]

“A window and the ceiling have fallen down”

(39) Taa hii na sahani hiyo vinafanana [n-i] + [n-i] → [vi-vi]

“This lamp and that dish are similar”

Locative and coordinated noun agreement 125 On the other hand, conjoined identical nouns for non-animates in a given class prompt the agreement in the plural form of that class (40–41). (40) Mlango huu na (mlango) ule inafanana [mu-u] + [mu-u] → [mi-i]

“This door and that one are similar”

(41) Kalamu yangu na (kalamu) yako zinafanana [n-i] + [n-i] → [n-zi]

“My pen and yours are similar”

In addition, conjoined nouns for animates and non-animates trigger the agreement in subclass [vi-vi], as shown in (42). (42) Farasi na gari havifanani kabisa [mu-yu,a] + [ø-li] → [vi-vi]

“A horse and a car are not similar at all”

Depending on the speaker, the second term of conjoined nouns may also exceptionally trigger the class agreement alone (43) (Marten 2000). (43) Vikombe na zawadi zilitolewa kwa washindi [vi-vi] + [n-zi] → [n-zi]

“Cups and presents were given to the winners”

16.7. Application exercises (44) Fill in the blanks, using each term once: mwake, hapo, kule, mpaka, zaidi, kwao, chini ya, baina ya, mbele ya, kijijini. Read aloud and translate into English. a. b. c. d. e.

_________ Juma na Abdalla, unampenda nani _________? Juma anazungumza _________ darasa. Kabla ya _________, alikuwa chumbani _________. Wazee wa kijiji hukutana _________ mti kila Ijumaa. Kesho nitarudi _________ kwetu. Mwaka jana nilisafiri Afrika Mashariki. Nilifika _________ mwezi wa Januari. Leo, Mariam ametembea _________ kituo cha basi. Amepata barua kutoka _________.

16.8. Cumulative exercises (45) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

Liz has gone walking along the river. We need to return to our home now. Are there any letters/Is there a letter today? (lit. Is there any letter today?) No, there is no letter today. Sorry. In our country, there are few farmers but very large farms. With whom are you, there in Kenya? My mother is not at our home, she has gone to visit our neighbor. I will stay in Pemba until the month of December. The bus from Mbeya has not arrived. Our brother is in his car now. She did not know (at that time).

126

Locative and coordinated noun agreement I had already lived in that house for six months. The boy is sitting between his father and his mother. Many people live in this city, other people live in the countryside. When did you arrive in Dar es Salaam? I arrived last month, but my luggage will arrive next week. I will return to my country this year. n. No one knows the gift that Fatuma has received (lit. “There is no (person) who knows”). o. The visitors who arrived yesterday are still here. They are now in their rooms. p. Are there students who like liquor? (lit. “liquors”). q. The children who are between seven and fourteen years old (lit. “who have between . . .”) must go to school. r. How many students are there who study Swahili? s. There is no child who does not like crying. t. I like very much the bread that is sold here. u. All the clothes that were brought by aunt Fatuma are lost. v. A person who writes books is called a writer. w. I am coming from our classroom. x. I will show you where I live. i. j. k. l. m.

17 The conditional mood

17.1. Different types of conditionals By definition, the “conditional mood” is a form of the verb that serves to state facts while implying some notion of “condition” or “probability”. In Swahili, the conditional mood involves four degrees of probability expressed with specific markers. The first degree of “probability”, or “factual conditional”, implies a virtually realized condi­ tion. It uses the conjunctions kama/ikiwa “if (it is true that)”, followed by a verb in the indicative mood in any tense, as in (1), while the other degrees of conditional use prefixes. (1) Factual conditional: kama/ikiwa “if (it is true that)”. a. b. c. d. e. f.

Kama/Ikiwa unamwona, mwite Kama/Ikiwa humwoni, mwite Kama/Ikiwa utamwona, ukampe kitabu hiki Kama/Ikiwa hutamwona, nenda kwa basi Kama/Ikiwa amefika, mimi ninaondoka Kama/Ikiwa hajafika, mimi siondoki

“If you see him (now), call him” “If you don’t see him (now), call him” lit. “If you will see him (if it is true that . . .), please give him this book” lit. “If you will not see him (if it is true that . . .), go by bus” “If he has arrived, I am leaving” “If he has not arrived, I am not leaving”

The second degree of “probability” is the “probable conditional”, which refers to a “condition” that may be fulfilled in the future. It uses the prefix -ki- “if” within the conditional clause, or conjunctions such as iwapo/endapo “if; in case” followed by a future tense verb (2). Similar to the “factual” conditional in (1), the verb of the main clause in “probable” conditional constructions may be either in the indicative or imperative/subjunctive mood. In addition, the “probable” conditional with a prefixed marker is negated using the marker -si-, similar to other forms of conditionals with a prefixed marker, while the marker -ki- is replaced with -po- (2b, d, f ). (2) Probable conditional: -ki- “if”/-si-po- “if . . . not” a. b.

Ukimuona, utampenda ~ Iwapo/Endapo utamwona, utampenda “If you see him, you will like him” Usipomuona, hutampenda ~ Iwapo/Endapo hutamwona, hutampenda “If you don’t see him, you will not like him”

The conditional mood

128 c.

d. e. f.

Ukimuona, umwambie aniite ~ Iwapo/Endapo utamwona, umwambie aniite “If you see him, tell him to call me” Usipomuona, usimwambie aniite ~ Iwapo/Endapo hutamwona, usimwambie aniite “If you don’t see him, don’t tell him to call me” Akianguka, ataumia ~ Iwapo/Endapo ataanguka, ataumia “If he falls down, he will get hurt” Asipoanguka, hataumia ~ Iwapo/Endapo hataanguka, hataumia “If he does not fall down, he won’t get hurt”

The third degree of “probability” is the “improbable conditional”, which refers to a condition that hypothetically could be fulfilled in the present. It is expressed by the prefix -nge- within the conditional clause and the main clause, which corresponds to “if + simple past . . . would”, as shown in (3). (3) Improbable conditional: -nge-/-si-nge- “if + simple past . . . would” a. b. c. d.

Ungemwona, ungempenda “If you saw him, you would like him” Usingemwona, usingempenda “If you saw him, you would not like him” Angeanguka, angeumia “If he fell down, he would get hurt” Asingeanguka, asingeumia “If he did not fall down, he would not get hurt”

The fourth degree of “probability”, or “unreal conditional”, refers to an unrealistic condition that would have been fulfilled in the past. It is expressed by -ngali- in both the conditional and the main clause, which corresponds to “if + past perfect . . . would have”, as shown in (4). (4) Unreal conditional: ngali-/-si-ngali- “if + past perfect . . . would have” a. b. c.

Ungalimwona, ungalimpenda “If you had seen him, you would have liked him” Usingalimwona, usingalimpenda “If you had seen him, you would not have liked him” Angalianguka, angaliumia “If he had fallen down, he would have been hurt”

The marker -ki- “if ” seen in (2) also may mean “when”, when referring to an event in the future or that regularly takes place. In that function, -ki- is used interchangeably with the temporal markers -po- seen in 10.5, or -taka-po- in the future tense, as shown in (5a–c). In addition, the temporal marker -ki- is replaced with -si-po- in negation, as in (5d), similar to the conditional marker -ki- that we have seen in (2). (5) Use of -ki- or -po- with a temporal connotation a.

­ki­/­po­

b.

­ki­/­po­

Kila tukikutana ananikaripia/Kila tunapokutana ananikaripia Each time we meet he berates me Ukimuuliza anakwambia nini?/Unapomuuliza anakwambia nini? When you ask him, what does he tell you?

The conditional mood c.

­ki­/­taka­po­

d.

­si­po­

129

Nikimwona, nitamuuliza/Nitakapomwona, nitamuuliza When I see him, I will ask him Nisipomwona sijisikii vizuri When I don’t see him, I don’t feel well

In the conditional mood, monosyllabic verb stems make the same types of distinctions as regular verbs seen before. The examples in (6) give the different forms of the verb “be” in the conditional mood, with an indication about the type of verbs they require in the main clause. (6) Forms of the conditional verb “be” (+ main clause verb) a. b. c. d.

Factual:

Kama wewe ni/si “If you are/not” Probable: ukiwa/usipokuwa “If you are/not” Improbable: ungekuwa/usingekuwa “If you were/not” Unreal: ungalikuwa/ usingalikuwa “If you had been/not”

- Kama ninyi ni/si “If you all are/not” - mkiwa/msipokuwa “If you all are/not” - mngekuwa/msingekuwa “If you all were/not” - mngalikuwa/ msingalikuwa “If you all had been/not”

+ IndIc./ SUbjUnctIve + IndIc./ SUbjUnctIve + -nge+ -ngalI-

With kuwa “be”, the second term of improbable or unreal conditional constructions, that is, the main clause, may optionally use the regular negation marker ha- (or h-, si- depend­ ing on the context) instead of -si-. This is shown in the b­ series (7–9), while the a­ series shows the negation with -si(7) a. b.

Usingekuwa mwanafunzi, usingekuwa darasani. Usingekuwa mwanafunzi, hungekuwa darasani. “If you were not a student, you would not be in class”

(8) a. b.

Usingalikuwa shuleni, usingalikuwa mwerevu namna hii. Usingalikuwa shuleni, hungalikuwa mwerevu namna hii. “If you had not been to school, you would not be that smart”

(9) a. b.

Nisingekuwa mwerevu, nisingekuwa na wewe. Nisingalikuwa mwerevu, singekuwa na wewe. “If I were not smart, I would not be with you”

As seen in the preceding examples, the conditional mood markers -nge-, ngali-, and -sipo- require the use of the stem augment ku- with monosyllabic stem verbs, contrary to the prefix ki- (a general presentation is given in 12.3). Additional examples are given in (10–11, 12a) vs. (12b). (10) a. b.

Ningekula Ningalikula

“I would eat” “I would have eaten”

(11) a. b.

Nisingekula Nisingalikula

“I would not eat” “I would not have eaten”

130

The conditional mood

(12) a. b.

Usipokula vs. Ukila

“If you do not eat” “If you eat”

In addition, the locative reference pronouns -po, -ko, -mo are suffixed to the verb kuwa “be” in the conditional mood, similar to the indicative mood seen before (7.2, 10.7). Examples are given in (13). (13) a.

b.

c.

d.

Wakiwapo watu wengi, tutaondoka/ “If there are many people, we will leave”/ Wasipokuwapo watu wengi, tutaondoka “If there are not many people, we will leave” Wangekuwapo, tungeondoka/ “If they were here, we would leave”/ Wasingekuwapo, tungeondoka “If they were not here, we would leave” Wangalikuwako, tungaliondoka/ “If they had been there, we would have left”/ Wasingalikuwako, tungaliondoka “If they had not been there, we would have left” Wangalikuwamo, tungaliondoka/ “If they had been in there, we would have left”/ Wasingalikuwamo, tungaliondoka “If they had not been in there, we would have left”

Finally, the auxiliary verb “be” may be used with the marker -ki- “if/while” to express a simple condition, as in (14), or the markers -nge-/-ngali- “(if . . .) would/would have” to express a precondition, as in (15–16). (14) Nikiwa ninasoma, hupenda kusikiliza muziki “While reading, I like listening to music” (15) a. b. c.

Ningekuwa ninasoma, ningesikiliza muziki “If I were reading, I would listen to music” Angekuwa anakuja, angefika mapema “If he were coming, he would arrive early” Angalikuwa anakuja, angalifika mapema “If he had been coming, he would have arrived early”

(16) Tungalikuwa tumeondoka

“We would have left”

17.2. The main clause in conditional mood and the expression of wishes The conditional marker -nge- is used in the expression of polite requests (17–18). It also expresses “regrets” or “preference” when used with the conjunctions laiti “if only”, bora “(it would be) better if ”, or afadhali “(it would be) preferable if ” (19–20).

The conditional mood (17) (18) (19) (20)

Tungependa chai na maandazi manne Tungeomba uondoke Laiti angeniletea vitabu vyangu leo! a. Bora ungemwambia b. Afadhali ungemwambia

131

“I would like tea and four beignets” “We would request that you leave” “If only he could bring me my books today!” “It would be better if you told him” “It would be preferable if you told him”

In addition, different forms of the conditional may be used in a subordinate clause introduced by bora “better; should” or heri “preferable; ought/should” to express polite request or regret (21–23). (21) (Ingekuwa) bora tukiondoka sasa or Heri tungeondoka sasa “It would be better if we left now/We ought to leave now/It would be preferable that we leave now” (22) (Ingalikuwa) bora tungaliondoka or Heri tungaliondoka “It would have been better if we had left/We should have left” (23) (Ingalikuwa) bora ungaliuliza or Heri ungaliuliza “You should have asked/You ought to have asked/It would be preferable if you had asked”

17.3. Temporal prefix -ki- and the notion of “simultaneity” Aside from the conditional, the prefix -ki- is also used in subordinate clauses with a temporal connotation, expressing the notion of “simultaneity” between two actions (24–25). This construction may be strengthened with the conjunction hivi/huku “while” as shown in (26b) (other sentence connectors are given in Appendix C). (24) a. b. c.

Tulimwona akisoma Hatukumwona akisoma Huwa ninamwona akikimbia kila asubuhi

“We saw him/her reading” “We didn’t see him/her reading” “I see him running every morning”

(25) Aliwasikia wakingombana

“He heard them arguing”

(26) a. b.

“Abdalla passed by, singing” “Mother is cooking while listening to the radio”

Abdalla alipita akiimba Mama anapika hivi/huku akisiliza redio

In addition, the noun wakati “time” may be used in some contexts with the connotation of “while; when”, as in (27). (27) a. b. c.

Heri msafiri wakati mko bado vijana “You should travel (you all) while you are young” Bora ununue vitabu wakati una pesa “You had better buy the books while you have the money” Wakati nilifika duka lilikuwa limefungwa “When I arrived, the store had been closed”

132

The conditional mood

17.4. Application exercises (28) Translate into Swahili and convert into negative form (two sentences per question). a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

Did you see her taking your clothes? (Negate “did you see”.) I have damaged my computer while trying to fix it (negate “have damaged”). If I get money, I will visit you. If she drinks milk, she will feel better. If we had bought tickets, we would have watched the match. If we had seen him, we would have liked him. If you go to the game reserve, you will see elephants and lions. If you like this book, take it. If you were to see him, you would like him. If you worked now, you would finish early.

17.5. Cumulative exercises (29) Translate into Swahili and convert into negative form (two sentences per question). a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

If they had money, they would travel a lot. If he had come, we would have gone to town together. If she comes, tell her I am in my office. If you try, you will succeed. If you drank milk, you would have good health. I would like you to read. If you have finished your exercises, can we go eat? The books she reads, I truly don’t like them. He wants a car that goes fast. If he arrives early, he will visit you.

18 The causative extension of the verb

The causative extension is an element that modifies the meaning of a verb, noun, or adjective to create a new verb stem that implies the notion of causation (e.g. “laugh” → “cause to laugh/make laugh”; “sad(ness)” → “sadden”; “short” → “shorten”). In Swahili, the causative extension mainly uses the suffix -ish-, which appears as -esh- after a mid-vowel /e,o/ within the verb base, due to the phenomenon of “vowel harmony” previously seen in 15.1. Additionally, some verbs may use the suffix -y-, which generally alters the ending of the original verb stem. Depending on the ending of the verb stem, the contact with the causative suffix -y- produces the sounds /z/, /sh/, /ny/, /fy/, or /vy/.

18.1. Regular use of the causative suffix -ish-/-esh- and the vowel harmony phenomenon The production of causative verbs using the suffix -ish-/-esh- applies with most verb stems, as shown in (1). Examples in (2) illustrate the use of the form -esh- due to vowel harmony after a stem mid-vowel /e/ or /o/. (1) Causative extension of verb stems, using the suffix -ish-/-esha. b. c. d. e. f.

-pima “measure” -rudi “return” -fahamu “understand” -hama “move (away)” -fa “die” -la “eat”

→ → → → → →

-pimisha -rudisha -fahamisha -hamisha -fisha -lisha

“make measure” “return sth. back; bring sth. back” “make understand” “make move, transfer” “destroy; cause to die” “feed”

(2) Causative extension of verb stems, using the suffix -esh- due to vowel harmony a. b. c. d. e. f.

-chelewa “be late” -nenepa “become fat” -sema “speak” -weza “be able” -enda “go; move” -soma “read; learn”

→ -chelewesha → -nenepesha → -semesha → -wezesha → -endesha → -somesha

“make or cause to be late; delay” “make fat; fatten” “cause to speak; speak to sb.” “enable” “make go; drive (e.g. a vehicle)” “make read, teach sb.”

The causative extension of the verb

134

In addition, as shown in (3–4), the construction of causative verbs from nouns and adjectives systematically uses the suffix -ish-, with the variant -esh- after a mid-vowel /e,o/ in the initial syllable of the stem, and a vowel /a/ in the final position (3g, 4f–g). (3) Construction of causative verbs from nouns, using the suffix -ish-/-esha. b. c. d. e. f. g.

hakika “certainty” haraka “hurry” sababu “cause” huzuni “sadness” lazima “obligation” taifa “nation” orodha “list; inventory”

→ -hakikisha → -harakisha → -sababisha → -huzunisha → -lazimisha → -taifisha → -orodhesha

“assure; make sure” “do fast” “to cause” “make sad or unhappy; sadden” “oblige; force/compel to do sth.” “nationalize” “to list; compile an inventory”

(4) Construction of causative verbs from adjectives, using the suffix -ish-/-esha. b. c. d. e. f. g.

imara “strong” -fupi “short” rahisi “easy; affordable” safi “clean” tayari “ready” bora “better” neema “grace; affluence”

→ → → → → → →

-imarisha -fupisha -rahisisha -safisha -tayarisha -boresha -neemesha

“strengthen” “shorten” “make easier; make affordable” “to clean; cleanse” “prepare; make ready” “improve sth; make better” “make affluent”

Base forms ending with a vowel other than /a/ do not prompt vowel harmony with the following suffix. Regardless of the vowel in the initial syllable of the stem, word-final vowels /i,e/ merge with the following suffix vowel /i/, /i + i/ becoming /i/ and /e + i/ becoming /e/, as shown respectively in (5a–d) and (5e–f ). Similarly, the vowel /u/ preceded by a consonant merges with the following suffix vowel /i/, /u + i/ becoming /i/ (6a–c), while the coalescence between the final vowel /o/ with the suffix vowel /i/ changes the former into /e/ and induces the use of a liaison semi-vowel /w/ (6d). (5) Merger of the causative suffix vowel /i/ with a stem-final vowel /i,e/ a. b. c. d. e. f.

-furahi “be happy” -kodi “to rent” -keti “to sit” -sheheni “to load cargo” vs. -samehe “to pardon” -starehe “to relax”

→ → → →

-furahisha -kodisha -ketisha -shehenisha

→ -samehesha → -starehesha

“make happy” “to rent out” “make sit” “make load” “to cause to pardon” “to entertain”

(6) Merger of the suffix vowel /i/ with a stem-final vowel /u/ preceded by a consonant vs. o + u → /owe/ a. b. c. d.

karibu “near; welcome” -hofu “to fear; be afraid” elimu “education” vs. -dogo “little”

→ -karibisha → -hofisha → -elimisha

“to welcome; receive sb.” “scare; cause to be afraid” “educate”

→ -dogowesha

“make appear/become little”

The causative extension of the verb 135 Stems ending in two vowels /ii/ also trigger the merger of the stem-final vowel with the vowel /i/ of suffix causative suffix -ish-, as shown in (7). (7) Suffix vowel merger with a stem-final /i/ with verb stems ending in /ii/ a. b.

-tii “obey” -jamii “copulate”

→ -tiisha → -jamiisha

“make obey” “cause to copulate”

18.2. Verbs ending with two vowels, except i,e (ua, oa, aa, au, uu): liaison consonant -lThe suffix vowel /i/ does not merge with a preceding sequence of vowels that do not involve a front vowel /i/ or /e/ (you may refer to Figure 9.1 for the difference between front vowels /i,e/ and non-front vowels /a,o,u/). Instead, verbs ending with two vowels from among /a,o,u/ prompt the use of the causative suffix -ish-/-esh- along with a liaison consonant -l-, whose role seems to be to prevent the sequence of certain types of vowels in accented position, that is, second-to-last syllable. This liaison consonant is used after original verbs ending in /aa/, /ua/, or /oa/ (8a–e), but also with verbs of foreign origin ending in /uu/ or /au/ (8f–g). As shown in (8g), verbs of foreign origin ending in two identical vowels /uu/ drop the final vowel before the addition of the liaison consonant -l-. (8) Liaison consonant -l- with verbs ending in two vowels other than /i,e/ a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

-tambua “recognize” -sugua “rub; clean by rubbing” -ng’oa “pull out” -toboa “drill” -vaa “wear” -dharau “disdain; disregard” -nukuu “transcribe; quote”

→ -tambulisha → -sugulisha → -ng’olesha → -tobolesha → -valisha → -dharaulisha → -nukulisha

“make recognize” “make rub; clean by rubbing” “make pull out” “make drill” “make wear; dress” “make disdain; make disregard” “make transcribe; make quote”

18.3. Context-dependent use of special causative suffix -yInstead of the causative suffix -ish-/-esh-, some verb stems use a special suffix -y- which generally alters the ending of the original verb stem, producing the sounds /sh, z, ny, fy, vy/, respectively from stem-final consonants /t ~ k, l, n, p, w/. The causative suffix -y- is mostly manifested through the consonant changes that it triggers (for historical analysis of these types of consonant change in Swahili, you may refer to Mpiranya 1995). It is directly visible only in the sequences /fy/ and /vy/, as /ny/ is phonetically a single sound, rather than a sequence (similar changes are described in Language note 22.1 with the suffix -i that expresses the notion of “agent”). The use of the suffix -y- is mostly context-dependent, as we will see in the following subsections. 18.3.1 Verb bases ending in k-, except ik-/ek-: suffi -yVerb bases ending in k- generally prompt the use of the causative suffix -y-, with the exception of those ending in ik-/ek-, that is, k- preceded by a front vowel (the vowel features are defined in Figure 9.1). This process, which gives the sound contact k-y → sh, is illustrated in (9).

136

The causative extension of the verb

(9) Causative suffix -y- after stems ending in k-, except ik-/eka. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

-amka “wake up” -chemka “boil (intr.)” -changamka “be cheerful” -teremka “descend” -waka “shine; burn” -ondoka “leave; depart” -choka “get/be tired” -kumbuka “remember” -kauka “become dry” -refuka “become long”

→ → → → → → → → → →

-amsha “wake up sb.” -chemsha “make boil” -changamsha “gladden” -teremsha “to lower/put down” -washa “to light/switch on/start, e.g. a car” -ondosha “make leave; remove” -chosha “cause to be tired/tire/annoy” -kumbusha “remind” -kausha “make dry” -refusha “to lengthen” (from -refu “long”, seen in 19.2)

Conversely, stems ending in ik- or ek- generally require the use of the regular prefix -ish-/-esh-, as shown in (10). (10) Causative suffix -ish-/-esh- after stems ending in ik-, eka. b. c. d. e. f.

-andika “write” -pika “cook” -fika “arrive (at)” -peleka “send; take to” -cheka “laugh” -weka “to put; place”

→ → → → → →

-andikisha -pikisha -fikisha -pelekesha -chekesha -wekesha

“make “make “make “make “make “make

write” cook” arrive (at)” send; take to” laugh” put; place”

18.3.2 Polysyllabic verbs ending in ea/ia: suffix -y- , vs. -ish-/-esh- for most disyllabic verbs Polysyllabic verbs ending in /ia/ and /ea/ generally prompt the use of the causative suffix -y-, which produces the sound /z/ (11). The sound /z/ is justified by the presence of a “furtive” consonant /l/ in second-to-last position of inherited Swahili stems ending in two vowels, which produces the special sound combination: l + -y- → z. (11) “Furtive” consonant l- with polysyllabic verbs ending in ia/ea (l + -y- → z) a. b. c. d.

-kimbia “run; run away” -tulia “be quiet” -umia “suffer; get hurt” -tembea “walk”

→ → → →

-kimbiza -tuliza -umiza -tembeza

“make run (away)” “appease” “make suffer; hurt” “take around”

The consonant /l/ which was found in the second-to-last position of the word has almost entirely disappeared in the evolution of the language. However, it is manifested directly or indirectly when the word is expanded with suffixes. The special contact /l + y → z/ is directly illustrated by one verb that has retained the consonant /l/ in second-to-last position, that is, -lala “sleep” which appears as -laza “make sleep” in the causative form (shown in (15d)).

The causative extension of the verb 137 Contrary to the polysyllabic stems ending in ia/ea, disyllabic stems ending in ia/ea require the use of the causative suffix -ish-/-esh- (12–13). In the case of disyllabic stems ending in /ea/ we have the merger of the stem front vowel with the suffix vowel (12), whereas disyllabic stems ending in /ia/ use the “furtive” consonant -l- (13). (12) Causative suffix -ish-/-esh- with disyllabic stems ending in /ea/ (with vowel merger) a. b.

-nywea “lose strength” -mea “sprout; germinate”

→ -nywesha → -mesha

“make lose strength” “make sprout/make germinate”

(13) Causative suffix -ish- and “furtive” consonant -l- with disyllabic stems ending in /ia/ a. b.

-tia “put” -zia “abstain from”

→ -tilisha → -zilisha

“make put” “make abstain from”

In addition, one disyllabic stem ending in /ia/ exceptionally uses the irregular marker -y- as shown in (14). (14) Exceptional use of the marker -y- with a disyllabic stem ending in /ia/ -lia “cry”

→ -liza

“make cry”

18.4. Alternation between the suffix -ish-/-esh- and the special causative suffix -ySome verbs use causative marker -y- in alternation with the regular suffix -ish-/-esh-, adding a special connotation or nuance to the original verb, beyond the regular causative meaning of “to cause to do some action” that is entailed by the suffix -ish-/-esh-. The most common verbs that employ this double usage are listed in (15) (with l + y- → z, n + y → ny, t + y → sh, w + y → vy). (15) Special causative derivation with -y- vs. regular causative derivation with -ish-/-esha.

-kataa “refuse”

b.

-ona “see”

c.

-pita “pass”

d.

-lala “sleep; lie down”

e.

-lewa “be drunk”

f.

-pata “obtain; get”

→ -kataza vs. -katalisha → -onya vs. -onyesha → -pisha vs. -pitisha → -laza vs. -lalisha → -levya vs. -lewesha → -pasha vs. -patisha

“forbid” “make refuse” “warn” “show” “let pass/give way” “cause to pass” “lay down/make sleep/put to bed” “cause to lie down/lay down” “make drunk (substance)” “cause to be drunk/inebriate” “make sth. available/offer sth.” “make obtain/get”

138

The causative extension of the verb

Other verb stems exclusively use the special causative -y- with special connotations, instead of the regular causative suffix -ish-/-esh-. The most common of these verbs are listed in (16). (16) Verbs that exclusively use the special causative -ya. b. c.

-shangaa “be astonished” → -shangaza -pungua “decrease” → -punguza -ugua “be ill/be sick” → -uguza

d. e.

-oa “marry ( for men)” -gawana “share”

→ -oza → -gawanya

“astonish; surprise sb.” “diminish sth./lower the value” “to cause to be ill; to nurse (patient)” “give sb. in marriage” “divide”

Finally, a few verb stems alternatively use both forms of causative suffixes, with no additional connotation. These verbs are presented in (17). (17) Verbs that use either -ish-/-esh- or -y- without additional connotation a. b.

-ogopa “fear” -pona “recover”

→ -ogopesha/-ogofya “scare; frighten” → -ponya/-ponyesha “heal; cure”

The verb -geuza “change; modify” also appears as a causative verb, though it does not seem to have a direct link with -geuka “change; become”. It is possible that it derives historically from another verb that is no longer used in contemporary Swahili.

18.5. Role and origin of the liaison consonant -l- (advanced analysis) Swahili verbs ending in Vowel + a generally had a consonant /l/ or /r/, which no longer appears in word-final syllables (i.e. after the word accent) in present-day Swahili words. The liaison consonant -l- reflects this archaic consonant, which has been analogically extended to some foreign-origin words depending on the context. As seen in (8), the liaison consonant -l- typically prevents contact between the suffix vowel /i,e/ and a dissimilar stem non-final vowel. As the suffix vowels /i,e/ do not merge with a dissimilar vowel in stem non-final position, the contact between dissimilar vowels in this context would result in an irregular vowel sequence in accented position. On the other hand, the use of a “furtive” consonant -l- after vowel /i/ in disyllabic verb stems as seen in (13) seems to reflect an exceptional preservation of the consonant /l/ in this particular context.

18.6. Marginal causative suffix -iz-/-ezIn alternation with the regular causative marker -ish-/-esh-, a few verbs use a marginal causative suffix -iz-/-ez-. This suffix is considered “marginal” because it is rare and lacks an obvious causative connotation, as seen in (18).

The causative extension of the verb 139 (18) Use of the marginal causative suffix -iz/-ez- vs. regular causative suffix -ish-/-esha.

-penda “like; love”

b.

-tata “be complicated”

c.

-lipa “pay”

→ -pendeza vs. -pendesha → -tatiza vs. -tatisha → -lipiza vs. -lipisha

“to “to “to “to “to “to

please/be nice” cause to like” puzzle” complicate” make pay/avenge” make pay/cause to pay”

18.7. Causative clauses with a direct object Causative constructions may involve a direct object, especially in patterns of the form “cause someone to do something”, the term “something” being the direct object of the verb “do”. In the following examples, the objects of the verbs in causative forms are underlined (19). (19) Use of causative clauses with a direct object “The government has dismissed the director” (lit. “has made . . . leave work”) Mama anawavalisha “The mother is making the watoto kanzu children wear robes” Rafiki wananisahaulisha “Friends make me forget my matatizo yangu problems” Picha hii ilimkumbusha “This picture reminded Salima of Salima mama yake her mother” (lit. “made Salima remember”) Daktari ameponyesha “The doctor has cured villagers wanakijiji malaria of malaria” Mwalimu anawaonyesha “The teacher is showing pictures watoto picha to the children/showing the children pictures”

a.

-acha “leave sth.”

→ Serikali imemuachisha mkurugenzi kazi

b.

-vaa “wear” -sahau “forget” -kumbuka “remember”

→

-pona “recover” -ona “see”

→

c. d. e. f.

→ →

→

18.8. Summary and review exercise: Causative suffixes according to the form of the base verb (20) Based on the information provided in column A, fill in column B with the stems from the following list, along with their causative forms (see example given in column B): -rudi “return”, -kataa “refuse”, -tia “put”, -penda “like”, -mea “sprout; germinate”, -pika “cook”, -starehe “to relax”, -weza “be able”, -tambua “recognize”, -kimbia “run; run away”; -cheka “laugh”, -waka “shine; burn”, lazima “obligation”, chemka “boil (e.g. of water)”. (Each row might have multiple entries; some verb stems might appear in more than one row.) Translate into English. (Keep previous sections covered.)

140

The causative extension of the verb A.

Causative suffixes depending on the structure of the base

a.

Stems ending in k- (except ik-/ek-): -y- → sh

b.

Most stems ending in Consonant + a: -ish-/-esh-

c.

Stems ending in Consonant + u,i,e or ii: -ish(u-i → i; i-i → i; e-i → e)

d.

Stems ending with two vowels, except i and e: -l-ish-/-l-esh-

e.

Polysyllabic verbs ending in ia/ea: -y- → z vs. disyllabic verbs: -ia → -l-ish-; -ea → -esh-

f.

With some verbs: use of suffix -y- with special connotations (→ /sh, z, ny, fy, vy/)

g.

With some verbs: marginal suffix -iz-/-ezwith special connotations

B. Base → causative verb (e.g. -pima → -pimisha)

18.9. Application exercises (21) Transform the word in parentheses into the causative form and conjugate the new verb into the present tense (or into the past/consecutive tense, if the context requires). Translate your sentences into English. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l.

Mwaka jana Mariam (karibu) wageni kutoka Kenya. Wiki jana Liz (kupotea) pasipoti yake. Upepo (kuanguka) miti miwili. Juma (kufurahi + object pronoun “me”) sana. Mama (kulala) watoto chumbani. Mariam (kuamka, + object pronoun “them”) baadaye. (Use “habitual” tense.) Hamisi (kuandika + object pronoun “me”) barua zake. Hajui kuandika. (Use “habitual” tense.) Baba (kukataa + object pronoun “we”) kucheza nje. Andrea (kusoma) watoto Kiingereza. Unaweza (kukopa + object pronoun “her”) shilingi elfu tano? Baba (kuugua) mtoto wake mgonjwa. Mwaka jana niliumwa malaria daktari (kupona + object pronoun “me”). Ninataka (hakika) kwamba unaelewa.

18.10. Cumulative exercises (22) Translate into Swahili. a. b.

I want to return this computer to the store. It is damaged. We want to go to the library. Abdalla will let us in (lit. “make us enter”). Can you show us the way?

The causative extension of the verb 141 I don’t know the name of the new Swahili teacher. Who can tell me? (lit. “make me know”) d. Mariam made me understand that she loves Juma. e. I too like Juma because he makes me laugh. f. Laura made me like America. g. Reading makes me happy, but writing makes me tired. h. I did not know yet how to drive a car. i. If I do not arrive early, I will not return. j. This shirt is very expensive. Please lower the price. k. His words hurt me a lot (hint: kuumia; use present tense). l. My mother made me forget my books. Why didn’t you remind me? (Hint: kumbuka.) m. Whose keys are these? The small keys are mine. The big key is Mariam’s. n. Hasn’t your mother come back yet? No, but my father has already come back. c.

19 Reciprocal, stative, and applicative verb extensions

19.1. The reciprocal suffix -an- and the notion of reciprocity 19.1.1 General use of the reciprocal suffix -anThe verb suffix -an- evokes the notion of “reciprocity”, which generally corresponds to the expression “each other” (1). Depending on the verb, the reciprocal construction may also correspond to the conjunction “with”, “from”, or “to” in English, as in (1b–d). (1) Suffix -an- and the notion of “reciprocity” a. b.

-penda “to love” -piga “to hit”

→ -pendana → -pigana

c.

-acha “leave sb.”

→ -achana

d. e. f. g.

-karibia “approach, come near” → -karibiana -ahidi “to promise” → -ahidiana -tii “to obey” → -tiiana -chafua “to upset” → -chafuana

“to love each other” “to hit each other; to fight (with sb.)” “to leave each other; to part (from)” “come near to each other” “to promise each other” “to obey each other” “to upset each other”

The reciprocal suffix -an- requires using the conjunction na when the second term of the reciprocal relation or an equivalent pronoun is placed after the verb (2–4). To refer to the noun introduced by the conjunction na, these types of verbs also use a reference pronoun suffixed to the latter (e.g. -ye, in subclass [mu-yu,a]), rather than an object pronoun prefixed to the verb (2b, 4). (2) Use of the conjunction “na” after the suffix -ana. b. c. (3) a. b.

Juma anapigana na Musa Juma anapigana naye (na + yeye) vs. Juma na Musa wanapigana

“Juma is fighting with Musa” “Juma is fighting with him” “Juma and Musa are fighting”

-kuta “run across sb.” → -kutana (na) -fana “be good” → -fanana (na)

“to meet (with)” “be similar (to); correspond (with/to), resemble”

Reciprocal, stative, and applicative verbs (4)

a. b.

Mjomba wangu, nilikutana naye jana Ninafanana naye sana

143

“My uncle, I met with him yesterday” “I resemble him very much”

With a few verbs, the extension -an- entails a connotation of “contact/proximity”, rather than “reciprocity”, as shown in (5). (5) Suffix -an- with a contact/proximity connotation a. b. c.

-fuata “to follow” → -fuatana (na) -ambata “to stick” → -ambatana (na) mpaka/mipaka “border(s)” → -pakana (na)

“to follow each other (with)” “to stick to each other/to” “to border each other; be adjacent to”

19.1.2 Liaison vowel -i- after round final vowel /u/ and monosyllables The final vowel -u proper to some foreign verbs prompts the use of a liaison vowel -i- in the presence of the reciprocal suffix -an-. A single verb final /u/ is dropped before the vowel -i-, while a final /u/ preceded by another vowel prompts the use of liaison consonant -l-, as shown respectively in (6) and (7) (similar cases have been described in 18.1 and 18.2). In addition, the sequence /uu/ in verb-final position is reduced to /u/ in case of verb extension (7a). (6) Deletion of single verb-final vowels -u before -ia. b. c. d. e.

-busu “to kiss” -tibu “to heal” -jaribu “to try” -jibu “to answer” -fahamu “to know”

→ → → → →

-busiana -tibiana -jaribiana -jibiana -fahamiana

“to “to “to “to “to

kiss each other” heal each other” try each other” answer each other” know each other”

(7) Use of liaison consonant -l- before the sequence -i-ana. b. c.

-nukuu “to quote” -sahau “to forget” -dharau “to disdain”

→ -nukuliana → -sahauliana → -dharauliana

“to quote each other” “to forget each other” “to disdain each other”

As shown in (8a–b), some monosyllabic stems also prompt the use of the liaison vowel -i- in the presence of the suffix -an-. You will observe that that the mid-vowel /e/ in (8a) comes from a combination of the open vowel /a/ of the verb base and the closed vowel /i/. (8) Use of the liaison vowel -i- with monosyllabic stems and the suffix -ana. b. c.

kupa “to give” kucha “to fear” vs. kula “to eat”

→ kupeana (pa-i-an-a) → kuchiana (ch-i-an-a)

“to give each other; exchange” “to fear each other”

→ kulana (l-an-a)

“to eat each other”

144

Reciprocal, stative, and applicative verbs

19.2. Stative suffix -ik-/-ek- and the notions of “state of being” or “feasibility” The “stative” suffix -ik- (or -ek- due to harmony with a vowel e/o in the initial syllable of the stem; see 15.1) transforms a “verb of action” into a “verb of state” that expresses the “state of being” or the “feasibility” of the action (see “do” → “get done/be doable”). The original object of the verb then becomes the subject of the new verb, which, therefore, cannot be followed by another object, as shown in (9–11). Kuvunja kikombe Kikombe kilivunjika Kikombe hakikuvunjika Kikombe hiki kinavunjika Kikombe hiki hakivunjiki

“to break a cup” “The cup got broken” “The cup did not get broken” “This cup is breakable” “This cup is unbreakable”

(10) a. b.

Kufanya kazi Kazi hii inafanyika kwa masaa mawili

“To do some work” “This work is doable in two hours”

(11) a. b.

Kusoma kitabu Kitabu hiki hakisomeki

“To read a book” “This book is unreadable”

(9)

a. b. c. d. e.

Contrary to the passive transformation, the verb of state excludes the use of a grammatical agent (i.e. noun introduced with na “by” in the passive transformation). In other words, for verbs with a stative suffix, the agent of the action is by definition unspecified. In addition, verbs of state like those with the suffix -ik- are incompatible with the passive transformation. Additional examples of verbs of state using the suffix -ik-/-ekare given in (12). As shown in (12f–g), stems ending in a vowel other than /a/ do not trigger the vowel harmony, but prompt the merger of their final vowel with the suffix vowel /i/. (12) Verbs of state using the suffix -ik-/-eka. b. c. d. e. f. g.

-sikia “hear” -maliza “finish sth.” -tumia “use” -elewa “understand” -neema “grace; affluence” -samehe “forgive” -kebehi “to ridicule”

→ → → → → → →

-sikika -malizika -tumika -eleweka -neemeka -sameheka -kebehika

“be audible; get heard” “get finished” “be in use” “get/be understood” “get/be affluent” “get/be forgiven” “get/be ridiculed”

In addition, a single final /u/ is dropped before -ik- (13), while the sequence of two non-front vowels /a,o,u/ prompts the use of a liaison consonant -l- (14). Different stems ending in ia/ea also use a furtive -l- before the suffix -ik-, as they do with other suffixes beginning with the vowel /i/ (15). (13) Deletion of a single final -u and the suffix vowel /i/ a. b. c.

-haribu “to spoil” -adhibu “punish” -fahamu “know”

→ -haribika → -adhibika → -fahamika

“get/be spoiled” “get punished” “get/be known”

Reciprocal, stative, and applicative verbs

145

(14) Liaison consonant -l- with two non-front final vowels and the suffix vowel /i/ a. b. c. d.

-kaa “sit; stay” -sahau “forget” -dharau “disdain” -shaua “praise”

→ → → →

-kalika -sahaulika -dharaulika -shaulika

“be inhabitable” “get/be forgotten” “get/be disdained” “get praised”

(15) Furtive consonant -l- with stems ending in -ia/-ea and the suffix vowel /i/ a. b. c d.

-lea “raise a child” -pokea “receive” -zoea “get accustomed to” -zuia “prevent”

→ → → →

-leleka -pokeleka -zoeleka -zuilika

“get raised” “get received” “become customary” “get prevented”

In addition, with a few stems, the stative suffix appears as -ikan-/-ekan- rather than -ik-/ -ek-, as shown in (16). (16) Verb stems that use the suffix -ikan-/-ekan- in stative form a. b. c. d.

-pata “get; obtain” -taka “need; want” -jua “know” -shinda “win; defeat”

→ → → →

e. f. g. h.

-weza “be able to” -ona “see” -kosa “miss” -sema “say; speak”

→ → → →

-patikana -takikana -julikana -shindikana (vs. -shindika -wezekana -onekana -kosekana -semekana (vs. -semeka

“be obtainable; be available” “be needed; be wanted” “be well-known” “fail (action); be unsuccessful” “get overcome”) “be possible” “be visible” “be missing; be lacking” “be purported; be claimed” “be utterable; speakable”)

The stative suffix has the form -uk-/-ok- when applied to a verb base that involves the suffix -u-/-o- in the second-to-last syllable or to an adjective ending in /u/ (17–19). In some cases, the suffix -u-/-o- has the connotation of reverse action, while the corresponding suffix -uk-/-ok- generally expresses the notions of “state of being” or “feasibility” in reference to a reverse action (17). (17) a. b. c.

-funga “close” → -fungua “open” → -funguka -pinda “fold; bend” → -pindua → -pinduka “overturn sth.” -funika “cover” → -funua “uncover” → -funuka

“get open” “get overturned; overturn (self )” “get uncovered”

(18) a. b. c.

-pasua “tear” -fafanua “explain” -komboa “liberate”

→ -pasuka → -fafanuka → -komboka

“get torn; burst” “get explained; become clear” “get liberated”

(19) a. b.

-erevu “intelligent” -refu “long/tall”

→ -erevuka → -refuka

“become intelligent” “become long/tall”

146

Reciprocal, stative, and applicative verbs

You will observe that the segment -ik- in -funika (17c) is a special suffix used with a limited number of bases to produce verbs of action, contrary to the stative suffix -ik- that we have seen in previous paragraphs.

19.3. Applicative suffix -i-/-e- and the use of additional objects Most verb stems may be extended with the suffix -i-/-e-, called “applicative” because it allows the use of an additional object to which the action of the verb indirectly applies, as opposed to the “direct object” on which the action of the verb bears directly. The applicative suffix -i-/-e- is associated with the expression of notions such as “benefit/detriment”, “direction”, “location”, “instrument of the action”, or “topic/purpose”. It is translated in English with various prepositions, such as “to/toward (someone/place)”, “for (someone)”, “with (an instrument)”, “on”, “from”, “about (a topic)” (20–25). In particular, the notion of “detriment” is involved when a negative action applies to someone’s possession (20f–g). In addition, applicative verbs used in a double object construction generally include an “object marker” that highlights the “beneficiary/affected”. Different such cases are shown in (21) (you may refer to Language note 10.2 for a definition of the “object marker”; additional discussion is offered in 25.1). You also will observe that the object corresponding to the “beneficiary/affected” tends to come immediately after the verb, except in idiomatic constructions, or in complex constructions like those involving a causative extension (21c–d). As seen in various examples below, the suffix -e- is used instead of -i- due to harmony with a mid-vowel /e,o/ in the verb base (20b–d, 22a–b). In addition, verb stems ending with two vowels /u,o,a/ or in ia/ea prompt the use of a liaison or furtive consonant -lbefore the applicative suffix -i-/-e-, as shown in (20e, g, h) and (22a, d). (20) Applicative constructions expressing “benefit/detriment” a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

-taka “wish” -leta “bring” -sema “speak” -teta “argue” -kataa “refuse; deny” -iba “steal” -chukua “take” -fungua “open”

→ -takia mtu kitu “wish sth. for sb.” → -letea mtu kitu “bring sth. to/for sb.” → -semea mtu “speak for sb.” → -tetea mtu/kitu “argue for/defend sb./sth.” → -katalia mtu kitu “deny sth. to sb.” → -ibia mtu kitu “steal sth. from sb.” → -chukulia mtu kitu “take sth. at the expense of sb.” → -fungulia mtu “open for sb.”

(21) Using applicative constructions of “benefit/detriment” a. b. c. d.

→ Salima alimchukulia dada yake pesa → Nitamwandikia mama yangu barua → Jirani alimvunjia heshima mchumba wangu -punguza bei → Mwenyeduka “lower the price” amempunguzia bei mteja (base: -pungua “decrease”, lit. “become low”) chukua “take” -andika “write” -vunja heshima “break the honor (of )”

“Salima took her sister’s money” “I will write a letter to my mother” “The neighbor broke the honor of my fiancé (= has disrespected . . .)” “The store manager has lowered the price for the customer”

Reciprocal, stative, and applicative verbs

147

(22) Applicative constructions expressing “direction” a.

-kimbia “run/flee ( from)”

b. c. d.

-hama “move from” -fika “arrive” -tembea “walk”

→ -kimbilia mtu/ -kimbilia mahali → -hamia mahali → -fikia mtu → -tembelea

“run to sb./ flee to a given place” “move to a given place” “reach sb.” “to visit” (lit. “walk to”)

(23) Applicative constructions expressing “location” a. b. c.

-soma “read”

→ kusomea chumbani/ chumba cha kusomea -cheza “play” → kuchezea mpira uwanjani/ uwanja wa kuchezea mpira -lala “sleep” → kulalia kitanda

“to read in a room” “a reading room” “play football on a field” “a field for playing football” “to sleep on a bed”

(24) Applicative constructions expressing “instrument” (with the conjunction -a: “for”) a.

-chapisha “print”

→ karatasi za kuchapishia

b.

-pika “cook”

→ sufuria ya kupikia wali

c.

-kata nyama “cut meat” → ubao wa kukatia nyama

d.

-nywa chai “drink tea”

→ vikombe vya kunywea chai

“printing paper (paper for printing)” “rice cooker (pot for cooking rice)” “a board for cutting meat” “tea drinking cups”

(25) Applicative constructions expressing “topic/purpose” a. b. c. d.

-furahi “be happy” -kasirika “be angry” -fikiri “think” -soma “study”

e.

-ongea “chat”

→ → → →

-furahia -kasirikia -fikiria -somea (ualimu, uuguzi) → -ongelea

“be happy about/enjoy” “be angry about/with” “think about (subject)” “study (for) + profession” (education, nursing) “chat about (subject)”

For the three cases listed in (26), the suffix -i- is unrelated to the notion of applicative object but involves a specific notion of “intensity” or “contrast”. (26) a. b. c.

-maliza “finish (sth.)” -vuta “pull” -nuka “stink”

→ -malizia → -vutia → -nukia

“finish (sth.) completely, finalize” (also “finish (sth.) for/at . . .”) “attract; be attractive” “smell good”

19.4. Suffix combination Different suffixes seen in this section, as well as the passive and causative suffixes seen in Language notes 15 and 18, may combine with each other. Table 19.1 illustrates the most common suffix combinations. The order of suffixes is generally variable, depending on the intended meaning (see Table 19.1c–d, e–f ), though the passive suffix always comes after

148

Reciprocal, stative, and applicative verbs

the other suffixes, as shown in (27). In addition, the stative suffix -ik-/-ek- seldom combines with other suffixes. Table 19.1 Typical suffix combinations a.

Causative + Reciprocal

b. c.

Causative + Applicative Reciprocal + Applicative

d.

Applicative + Reciprocal

e.

Causative + Reciprocal

f.

Reciprocal + Causative

g. h.

Causative + Passive Applicative + Passive

-kumbuka -kumbusha -kumbushana -kumbushia -piga -pigana -pigania -leta -letea -leteana -pigisha -pigishana -pigana -piganisha -kumbushwa -letea -letewa

“remember” “remind” “remind each other” “remind for” “hit” “hit each other; fight” “fight for” “bring” “bring to/for” “bring ( for) each other” “cause to be hit” “cause each other to be hit” “hit each other; fight” “cause to fight” “be reminded (of )” “bring for/to” “have sth. brought to oneself”

(27) Using the passive suffix combined with another suffix a.

Liz ametukumbusha kisa hiki → Τumekumbushwa kisa hiki na Liz

b.

Mariam aliniletea kitabu → Nililetewa kitabu na Mariam Pesa zangu zimeisha → Pesa zimeniishia

c.

→ Nimeishiwa (na pesa)

“Liz reminded us of this incident” “We have been reminded of this incident by Liz” “Mariam brought me a book” “I was brought a book by Mariam” “My money is finished” “My money is finished” (lit. “Money is finished for me”) “I am broke” (lit. “I am out of money”)

You will observe that the idea of possession in (27c) is shown by the object pronoun -ni- “(to/for) me” (see zimeniishia).

Reciprocal, stative, and applicative verbs

149

19.5. Review exercise (28) Add to the following verb stems an extension referring to the meaning indicated in the top row. Translate your answers into English. (Keep previous sections covered.) extension →

each other

kuelewa

kuele............ “understand each other”

get/be

for/to/at/from

kufahamu kujua kukata kumaliza kusahau kusamehe kuudhi “to inconvenience”

19.6. Application exercises (29) Transform the verb base in parentheses following the indications provided. Fill in the blanks, while conjugating the new verb in the perfect tense (or use the infinitive form, depending on the context). Translate the sentences into English. a. b. c. d.

Nyumba yangu __________ matengenezo. Hamisi __________ nyumba yake na serikali. Abdalla __________ pesa zake nyumbani. Samahani, kaka: unaweza __________ dirisha?

e. f.

Aliomba chumba cha __________ wageni. Mkate __________ leo.

g.

(Sisi) __________ mashairi.

h.

Jirani __________ gari lake.

(-fanya + applicative, passive) (-vunja + applicative, passive) (-leta + applicative, passive) (-fungua + applicative, + “me”) (-pokea + applicative) (-pata + stative, negative) [present tense] (-soma + applicative, reciprocal) (-rudi + causative, applicative, passive)

(30) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f.

A thief has robbed a child of his book. Fatuma will read the newspaper to her mother. I try to understand him, but he is not understandable. (Hint: kuelewa.) I want to talk about our journey. [Do not use a preposition.] My friend has bought me very nice flowers. We write to each other every day.

150

Reciprocal, stative, and applicative verbs g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o.

Your message has reached your parents. [Do not use a preposition.] (Hint: kufika.) You can sit on a chair. [Do not use a preposition/locative suffix.] It is obvious that he does not understand. (Hint: kuona.) His voice can be heard from here. I had my passport stolen by a pickpocket. I need paper for writing letters (i.e. appropriate for writing letters on). Father cooks dinner for the university workers. Salima fell down and had her arm broken (broke her arm). I feel sorry for Liz. (See huruma.)

19.7. Cumulative exercises (31) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m.

I like to compete with other people, not to fight with them. (Base verb: “hit”.) It is not possible to travel without a passport. It is important to respect each other. Lower the price for me, please. (Hint: kupungua.) Some young people have moved to the city. The father is preparing dinner for his children. (Hint: kuandaa.) They followed each other to the bus station. (lit. “until the bus station”.) They were friends long ago, but now they have forgotten each other. This game is well-known in America, but many Tanzanians don’t know it. We know each other, but we are not friends. We met in Europe. The phone is still in use/busy. (Hint: kutumia.) Do not be fooled. That brother is a big liar. (Hint: kudanganya.) It is well-known that he loves you.

20 Adverbs in a broad sense

20.1. Inherent vs. derived adverbs In Swahili, there are relatively few inherent adverbs, that is, words whose primary role is to qualify adjectives and verbs. This is the case for terms such as sana “very”, polepole “slowly”, mapema “early”, barabara “very well” (with the accent on the second syllable), or zamani “long ago”. There are also the interrogative adverbs -je? “how?”, vipi? “how?”, namna gani? “how (in what manner)”, which are illustrated in (1). (1) Use of interrogative adverbs a.



Unasemaje “television” katika Kiswahili? “How do you say ‘television’ in Swahili?” b. Ningesemaje “mama” kwa wingi? (u-ingi) “How would I say ‘mama’ in the plural?” c. Sijui nifanyeje! “I don’t know what to do!” (lit. “how I should do!”) d. Tutakwenda vipi mjini? “How will we go to the city?” e. Kofia hii umeipata namna gani? “How did you get this hat?”

As seen in (1a–c), the adverb -je “how?” is suffixed to a verb in indicative, conditional, or subjunctive mood. In addition, vipi “how?” in (1d) derives from the interrogative pronoun -pi? “which”, while namna gani “how?” in (1e) comprises a noun meaning “manner”, and an interrogative adverb meaning “what”. The examples in (2) illustrate the use of these different words in non-adverbial contexts. (2) a. Hiki ni chakula namna gani? “What sort of food is this?” b. Kufika Arusha unapitia njia gani? “To reach Arusha by which way do you pass?” c. Ni miji ipi inakaribiana na Arusha? “Which cities are close to Arusha?” Besides inherent adverbs, there are also numerous cases of adverbs that are derived from adjectives, nouns, or other adverbs, and we will examine these in the following sections. In addition, different nouns are used in constructions that allow them to function like adverbs, that is, to qualify adjectives or verbs.

152 Adverbs in a broad sense

20.2. Derivation of adverbs from nouns using the prefix kiNouns that express human qualities or refer to cultural background may be transformed into adverbs using the prefix ki-, as shown in (3–4). Given the type of nouns that are involved, this process is virtually unlimited. (3) Noun-derived adverbs using the prefix kia. b. c. d. e.

m-shenzi “an imbecile” m-jinga “an idiot” m-toto “a child” Afrika “Africa” mzungu “a white person”

→ → → → →

kishenzi kijinga kitoto kiafrika kizungu

“like an imbecile” “like an idiot” “like a child; childishly” “(like an) African” “(like a) European”

(4) Use of noun-derived adverbs with the prefix kia. b. c. d. e.

Mariam huvaa kizungu lakini hula kiafrika “Mariam dresses like a European but eats like an African” (referring to food/cuisine) Sipendi jinsi analalamika kitoto “I don’t like how he complains like a child” Anapolewa, Juma huongea ki(u)jinga “When he is drunk, Juma talks like an idiot” Mariam anapenda kusoma kiukweli “Mariam truly likes reading” Kiukweli, baba yako alinisaidia sana “In truth, your father helped me a lot”

As seen in (4c), the abstract class prefix u- referring to human qualities is optionally preserved in the presence of the adverbial prefix ki-. However, it is obligatorily preserved when the adverbial form is used as a sentence intensifier, as in (4d–e). The adverbial prefix ki- also may be attached to other types of nouns or to nominal groups to convey the notion of “in terms of ” or “in relation to” (5). In such cases, the noun keeps its original prefix, as it appears in (5b–c). (5) a. b. c. d. e.

Kibiashara, huwezi kufanya hivyo “Commercially speaking, you cannot act like that” Tunahusiana kikazi, siyo kimapenzi “We relate to each other as colleagues, not as lovers” Ameharibika kimwili na kitabia “He is damaged physically and in his character” Anaishi kisiku hizi (see siku hizi “nowadays”) “He lives in accordance with today’s trends” Tuliongea kikawaida (see kawaida “habit”) “We talked casually (ordinarily)”

Adverbs in a broad sense 153 In addition, the adverbial prefix ki- is used with some locative prepositions to produce adverbs of manner, through a process that doubles the original stem. Examples are given in (6). (6) Adverbs of manner derived from locative adverbs a. b. c. d.

juu “up” chini “down” mbele “in front” nyuma “behind”

kusoma kijuujuu kuendelea kichinichini kujipeleka kimbelembele kuenda kinyumanyuma

“to “to “to “to

read superficially” advance stealthily” put oneself forward” go backward”

20.3. Derivation of adverbs from adjectives using the prefix viUsing the prefix vi-, most adjectives may be transformed into “adverbs of manner” that qualify verbs. Examples of adjective-derived adverbs are listed in (7), while the examples in (8–9) illustrate their use in different sentences. In (9), we see in particular the use of adverbs of manner with the prefix vi- in impersonal constructions (ni/si “it is/it is not”). (7) Adjective-derived adverbs using the prefix via. b. c. d. e. f.

-zuri “good” -baya “bad” -ema “nice (of character)” -kali “fierce; ruthless” -gumu “difficult; hard” -kubwa “big; great”

→ → → → → →

vizuri vibaya vyema/vema vikali vigumu vikubwa

“well; (it is/it is not) good” “badly; (it is/it is not) bad” “nicely; (it is/it is not) nice” “fiercely; ruthlessly” “with difficulty; (it is/it is not) hard” “greatly, extremely”

(8) Use of adverbs with the prefix via. b. c. d.

Ninakukumbuka vizuri “I remember you (very) well” Kwa nini unaniangalia vibaya? “Why do you look at me with hostility?” (lit. “badly”) Juma amempiga mtoto wake vibaya/vikali “Juma has badly/ruthlessly beaten his child” Siku hiyo alifurahi vikubwa “That day he was extremely happy”

(9) Use of adverbs of manner with the prefix vi- in impersonal constructions a. b.

Ni vibaya kupiga watoto Kuendesha baisikeli si vigumu sana; kuendesha gari ni vigumu zaidi

“It is bad to beat children” “Riding a bike is not very difficult; driving a car is more difficult”

As shown in (10), the adjective stem -dogo instead uses the prefix ki- to produce the adverb. In addition to the adverbial use, kidogo is used as a quantity adjective meaning “some” (10d).

154

Adverbs in a broad sense

(10) Adjective-derived adverb exceptionally using the prefix kia. b. c. d.

-dogo “little” → kidogo Kazi hii ni ngumu kidogo Samahani, leo ninaumwa kidogo Ningependa maziwa kidogo

“a little bit; some” “This work is a little difficult” “Sorry, I am a little sick today” “I would like some milk”

20.4. Adverbial phrases using the prefixes vi- or -vyoThe adverbial prefix vi- seen in the previous section is also used with interrogative and demonstrative pronouns to express the idea of “manner” (11a–c), or to express the conjunction “as well”, in the case of the demonstrative -le “that” (11d). vipi?

“how?”

b.

hivi/hivyo

“like this/that”

c.

vile

d.

vilevile

“like that (past)” “as well”

(11) a.

→ Utasafiri vipi? “How will you travel?” → Ukiendelea hivi/hivyo utafaulu “If you continue like this/like that you will succeed” → Ukiendelea vile utafaulu “If you continue like that, you will succeed” → Liz vilevile ni mwalimu “Liz is a teacher as well”

The adverbial prefix vi- is also prefixed to the relative marker -o- to give the segment -vyo- used in relative clauses that express the idea of “manner”. Examples are given in (12–14). (12) a. b.

ninavyoona nilivyoona; tutakavyoona nisivyoona

“as I see; in my view”; “as I saw; as we will see” “as I don’t see” (negative form limited to present tense)

(13) nionavyo

“as I see; in my view” (suffixed form, in present affirmative only)

(14) a. b. c.

“as I have said” “as you know” “as I have heard”

(Kama) nilivyosema (Kama) mnavyojua Nilivyosikia

The segment -vyo is also used with the particle ndi- of the emphatic verb “be” to produce the adverb ndivyo, literally “this is how/that is how”. Examples in (15) show the use of ndivyo in ordinary speech, while those in (16) show its use in proverbs. (15) a. Kaka, hivi ndivyo umekuwa? b. Hivi ndivyo alivyo/anavyokuwa c. Ndivyo unavyofanya kazi?

“Brother, is this how you have become?” “This is how he is/how he becomes” “Is this how you do (your) work?”

Adverbs in a broad sense 155 (16) a. b. c.

Mtoto umleavyo, ndivyo akuavyo “As you raise a child, so he becomes (so he grows)” Kama ilivyo kwa kuku, ndivyo ilivyo kwa kanga “As it is for the chicken, so it is for the guinea fowl” Jamvi ulitandikavyo, ndivyo utakavyoketi “As you set the mat, so you will sit”

20.5. Adverbial nouns and adjectives Different types of nouns may be used as adverbs to qualify verbs. This is the case for some nouns referring to the notion of “speed”, as shown in (17). Here, the adverbial nouns seem to follow from “adverbial groups” with the conjunction kwa “with (manner)”, the latter being skipped through ellipsis (see the use of kwa in 20.6). (17) Adverbial groups vs. adverbial nouns based on the notion of “speed” a.

haraka “haste”

b.

kasi “speed”

c.

mbio “speed”

Abdalla anakwenda kwa haraka lit. “Abdalla is walking with haste” → Abdalla anakwenda haraka “Abdalla is walking fast” Abdalla anakwenda kwa kasi lit. “Abdalla is walking with speed” → Abdalla anakwenda kasi “Abdalla is walking fast” Nchi yetu inaendelea kwa mbio lit. “Our country is progressing with speed” → Nchi yetu inaendelea mbio “Our country is progressing fast”

The noun kiasi “amount/quantity” in (18a) also functions as an adverbial noun meaning “(in) average amount/quantity, moderately”, optionally using the conjunction kwa (18b–c). The same pattern is observed with for makusudi “intention” in (19c), while the conjunction kwa is obligatory when the qualifying noun is used with an adjective (19b). On the other hand, the conjunction kwa “with (manner)” is excluded with the noun kimya “silence” when used alone as an adverbial (20c). Shamba lake lina kiasi kikubwa cha miti “His field has a big quantity of trees” b. Shamba lake lina mti (kwa) kiasi “His field has an average quantity of trees” c. Kila mwaka anasafiri (kwa) kiasi “Every year he travels moderately”

(18) a.



(19) a. b. c.

Ulikuwa na makusudi gani ulipokuja hapa? “What was your intention coming here?” Alimgonga kwa makusudi mazima “He hit him (clearly) on purpose” Alimgonga (kwa) makusudi “He hit him on purpose”

156

Adverbs in a broad sense

(20) a. Kimya kilitanda chumbani b. Walimsikiliza kwa kimya kizito c. Walimsikiliza kimya

“Silence spread in the room” “They listened to him in a heavy silence” “They listened to him in silence/silently”

As shown in (21b–d), the noun mara “time (occurrence)” and the numeral moja “one” also are used in constructions that have the value of an adverb (see “from time to time”; “immediately”; “directly”). (21) a. Nimekutana naye mara moja/tano b. Hukutana na wanafunzi mara kwa mara c. d.

Mariam! Njoo hapa mara moja! Aliingia chumbani moja kwa moja

“I meet with him one/five time(s)” “I meet with students from time to time” “Mariam! Come here immediately!” “He immediately entered the room”

In addition, some adjectives of foreign origin may be used as adverbs. The most common of them are shown in (22). (22) Use of adverbial adjectives Adjective a. b. c.

Adverbial use

wazi Alisema wazi/waziwazi “open” kuwa hakupendi bure Alinipa kalamu hii bure “worthless; free” tayari “ready” Tayari nimelipa

Meaning He said openly that he does not like you He gave me this pen for free I have paid already

Some nouns that are used as adjectives after the verb “be” to express a state of being optionally allow omitting the verb “be” when used after another verb (see subject-ki-wa “while being”), which makes them function like adverbs. This is shown in (23) with the nouns uchi [mu-u] “nudity” and kimya [ki-ki] “silence” (see also (20)). (23) Adverbial use of a state of being noun in idiomatic constructions Adjective use with “be” Adverbial use after a verb

Gloss

a.

Mtoto yuko uchi “The child is naked”

b.

Msichana yuko kimya “The girl is silent”

The child is walking in the nude (lit. naked ) The children sleep in the nude The girls have sat silent/silently The girls stayed silent

→ Mtoto anatembea uchi → Watoto wanalala uchi → Wasichana wamekaa kimya → Wasichana walibaki kimya

The examples in (24) illustrate idiomatic expressions involving an adjective or a noun group used as an adverb while omitting the use of the verb “be” or “have/be with” (see “while”; “having/with”).

Adverbs in a broad sense 157 (24) Idiomatic expressions with an adverbial group omitting the use of the verb “be/have” Adj./noun gr. a. b.

c.

d. e.

f. g.

Adverbial use in idiomatic expression

→ -enda sare Timu zetu zilikwenda sare → -wa/-tembea/-kaa . . . tumbo/kifua . . . wazi Anapenda kutembea kifua wazi mdomo wazi → -wa/-acha/-baki . . . “open mouth” mdomo wazi Wimbo wake ulituacha midomo wazi macho (wazi) → -wa macho “(open) eyes” Nilijaribu kuwa macho wakati wote mikono mitupu → -fika, -ja, -ondoka “empty hands” mikono mitupu Hamtaondoka mikono mitupu makini → -wa makini “attention; Niko makini unalosema attentiveness” njaa → -lala (na) njaa “hunger” Kwa sababu ya ukame, watu hulala njaa sare “similar” wazi “open; bare”

Gloss play to a tie Our teams played to a tie Be/walk/sit . . . with a bare belly/chest He likes walking with a bare chest Be/leave sb./remain . . . stunned (lit. with an open mouth) His song left us stunned be/stay alert (lit. with open eyes) I tried to stay alert all the time arrive, come, leave . . . empty-handed You will not leave empty-handed be attentive I am attentive to what you are saying sleep hungry (lit. sleep with hunger) Due to the drought, people sleep hungry

In addition, various other constructions involving the notions of “cause/consequence” or “purpose” lack a conjunction (see implement/manner conjunction kwa “with; by”). These types of patterns appear fully idiomatic, as they apply to a single verb or a limited set of verbs within a given semantic category (25). (25) Cause/consequence constructions without a conjunction a.

b. c.

-fa “die”: kufa maji/moto/ njaa/kiu “die from water (drown)/fire/hunger (be starving, be very hungry)/ thirst (be very thirsty)” -shiba (“be satisfied/full”) + “food” -lewa (“be drunk/ intoxicated”) + “intoxicant”

→ Nipe chakula, ninakufa njaa → Abiria wawili wamekufa maji

Give me some food, I am starving Two passengers drowned

→ Nimeshiba ugali, ningependa kujaribu wali → Amelewa bangi

I am satisfied with stiff porridge, I would like to try rice He is intoxicated with hashish

158

Adverbs in a broad sense

Nouns that are usually used in locative constructions without a locative marker (i.e. familiar places that imply the notion of “service”, mentioned in 16.4) may also appear in idiomatic expressions that involve a direct object, as shown in (26). (26) Idiomatic expressions with a direct object and a locative phrase without a locative marker a. b. c.

-fukuza mtu kazi/shule . . . “dismiss sb. from work/ school” (lit. “chase”) -futa mtu kazi/shule . . . “dismiss; fire” (lit. “erase sb. from work/school”) -tia mtu jela “put sb. in jail”

→ Mkurugenzi amewafukuza shule wanafunzi wanne → Serikali imemfuta kazi mfanyakazi mzembe → Watamtia mshukiwa jela/Mshukiwa atatiwa jela

The director has dismissed four students from school The administration has fired the negligent employee They will put the suspect in jail/The suspect will be put in jail

The verb -chelewa “be late (at/to)” may also be followed by a noun referring to a given action, without a locative marker, as shown in (27a). In contrast, it may also be followed by an infinitive form to express a delayed action (27b). (27) Verb -chelewa “be late at/to” followed by a locative object without a locative marker vs. infinitive form a. b.

Nilichelewa kazi/shule/mtihani/mchezo “I was late to work/to school/to the exam/to the game” Kwa nini umechelewa kuja, kusoma, kulala . . . ? “Why have you been late coming, studying, sleeping . . . ?”

20.6. Adverbial groups with the conjunctions kwa/bila (manner/cause) Some nouns are used with the conjunctions kwa “with; by; out of ” (manner/cause) or its opposite bila “without” in adverbial constructions that serve to qualify verbs (28–30). (28) Adverbial groups using the conjunction kwa “with/by” and a noun (manner/cause) a. b. c. d.

huruma “compassion” hasira “anger” ukali “severity” heshima “respect; honor”

kwa kwa kwa kwa

huruma hasira ukali heshima

e. f. g. h. i.

sauti “voice” sauti kubwa “big voice” kelele “noise” furaha “happiness” makini “attention; concentration”

kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa

sauti sauti kubwa kelele furaha makini

“with/out of compassion” “with anger; angrily” “severely” “with respect, respectfully; politely, honorably” “aloud” “loudly; with a big voice” “with noise” “happily” “attentively”

Adverbs in a broad sense 159 j. k. l. m. n. o. p. q. r.

ujinga “stupidity” woga “fear” (ma)shaka “hesitation” bahati “luck” upole “gentleness” unafiki “hypocrisy” uongo “lie; deceit” hiari “choice” masikitiko “sadness”

kwa ujinga kwa woga kwa (ma)shaka kwa bahati kwa upole kwa unafiki kwa uongo kwa hiari kwa masikitiko

“stupidly” “out of fear; fearfully” “with hesitation” “by luck” “gently” “hypocritically” “deceptively” “by choice” “with sadness; sadly”

(29) Adverbial groups using the conjunction bila “without” and a noun (manner) a. b. c. d.

shaka “doubt” huruma “compassion” woga “fear” hasira “anger”

bila bila bila bila

shaka huruma woga hasira

“without “without “without “without

doubt” compassion” fear; fearlessly” anger”

(30) Using adverbial groups with kwa/bila and a noun a. b. c. d. e.

Ninadhani aliniangusha kwa maksudi “I think he knocked me down on purpose” Alitupokea kwa huruma “He received us out of/with compassion” Alitupokea bila huruma “He received us without compassion” Aliniangalia kwa woga “He watched me out of fear/fearfully (with fear)” Aliniangalia bila woga “He watched me fearlessly (without fear)”

Other adverbial groups include the conjunction kwa/bila followed by an infinitive form. A few examples are shown in (31). (31) Adverbial groups with kwa/bila and an infinitive form a. b. c.

Alimuuliza kwa/bila kubembeleza Amekichukua kwa/bila kujua Alinijibu kwa/bila kusita

“He asked him (un)soothingly” “He has taken it (un)knowingly” “He answered me with(out) hesitation”

Finally, ukweli “truth” is used with the conjunction kwa to qualify a whole sentence in terms of “truthfulness”, in alternation with kweli (32). Additional forms are given in Appendix C. (32) Hamisi kwa (u)kweli ni mwongo

“Hamisi in truth is a liar”

20.7. Various uses of the conjunction kwa In addition to its use in locative phrases and adverbial groups of manner/cause as seen in 20.5 and 20.6, the conjunction kwa is used to express various other functions, as shown in (33–38) (other examples are found in various parts of this text).

160

Adverbs in a broad sense

(33) Expression of duration/occurrence with kwa “for” a. b. c. d. e.

Nimesoma kwa masaa mawili/muda mfupi “I have read for two hours/a short while” Umekuwa Mombasa kwa muda gani? “How long have you been in Mombasa?” Nilifanya kazi Kanada kwa mwaka mmoja “I worked in Canada for a year” ( for one year) Kwa mara ya kwanza, amesema Kiswahili! “For the first time, she has spoken Swahili!” Kwa mara ya mwisho, naomba uondoke “For the last time, I request you to leave”

(34) Expression of means/instrument with kwa “by/with”

a. Nitafika kesho kwa meli “I will arrive tomorrow by boat” b. Mizigo utasafiri kwa reli/bahari “The loads will travel by rail/sea” c. Mariam anakata karatasi kwa mkasi “Mariam is cutting paper with scissors”

(35) Expression of manner with kwa “in” a. b.

Tafadhali, sema kwa Kiswahili Alieleza kwa kina/undani (kina “depth”; undani “core”)

“Please, speak in Swahili” “He explained in depth/fully”

(36) Expression of point of view/comparison with kwa “for/in/out of ” a. b. c. d. e.

Kwa watu wengi, mazoezi ni muhimu (kwangu, kwako . . .) “For many people, sport is important” (“For me, you . . .”) Dada zake wanalingana kwa urembo/urefu “His sisters are similar in beauty/height” Tunajitegemea kwa vifaa vya shule “We rely on ourselves for school supplies” Alinisaidia kwa hali na mali “He supported me morally and financially” Wanafunzi watatu kwa kumi wamekuja “Three students out of ten have come”

(37) Expression of utility/target with kwa “for” a. b. c.

Pesa zote zinatumiwa kwa kukodi nyumba/kwa kutengeneza nyumba “All the money is used for renting the house/for repairing the house” Mama ananipa pesa kwa karo ya shule “Mother gives me money for school fees” Wimbo huu umelengwa kwa vijana “This song is intended for the youth”

Adverbs in a broad sense 161 (38) Expression of correlation with kwa “along with” a. b.

Wake kwa waume waligoma “Men, alongside women, went on strike” Tumekula ugali kwa nyama “We have eaten stiff porridge along with meat” (idiomatic; see pamoja na for general use)

20.8. “Ideophones” as intensive adverbs In addition to regular adverbs that are used in various contexts, there also exist “ideophones”, which apply to a single adjective or verb and serve to convey the notion of intensity (see “completely”). As shown in (39–40), ideophones generally use repetitive sounds, sometimes based on the last syllable of the verb or the adjective they refer to. Similar to the color adjectives in (39), the noun for “darkness” also may be used with an intensive adjective (41). (39) a. b. c.

-eusi ti!/-eusi tititi -eupe pe!/-eupe pepepe -ekundu ndu!/-ekundu ndundundu

“completely black” “completely white” “completely red”

(40) a. b.

-kataa kata kata -jaa tele (see also adj. -ingi tele “extremely abundant”) -choka tiki (see also adj. tiki tiki “squashy”) -fa fofofo also -lala fofofo -funika gubi gubi (see -gubika “cover completely”) -lowa chapa chapa -lewa chapa chapa -tulia tuli -nyamaza jii (colloquial)

“refuse completely”

c. d. e. f. g. h. i.

(41) giza tororo [ø-li/ma-ya]

“be chock-full” “be completely tired; be exhausted” “be absolutely dead” “be sound asleep” “cover from head to toe” “be completely soaked” “be completely drunk” “be completely calm” “keep completely silent” “complete darkness”

Finally, some verbs may be emphasized with a particle that imitates the sound of the action of the verb. The most common of those particles, often called onomatopoeia, are given in (42). (42) a. b. c. d.

-anguka pu! -ondoka vu! -cheka kwe kwe kwe -lia kwi kwi kwi

“fall down with a bang” “depart swiftly” “laugh loudly” “cry loudly”

162 Adverbs in a broad sense

20.9. Application exercises (43) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i.

How do you know my father? I live well (get along) with everyone (lit. “every person”). It is good to wake up early. It is nice to visit your friends. He did not ask me politely. The children are playing happily. As I understand, you are Kenyan? I have lived in town for a long time. This is how I came to East Africa.

20.10. Cumulative exercises (44) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m.

Can you clean this coat for me? Did you see her cry? Do not worry. I can look after myself. Her parents are well-known here in town. I did not close the door because it doesn’t close well. I will bring you a gift tomorrow. If you watch attentively, you will see him. It is not good driving while using the phone. This is the new student whom I met (with) in the city. Do not take the boat. Come by plane. Is Zanzibar visible from the continent? Do you want me to read aloud? My brother is a little taller than me.

21 Adjectives in a broad sense

As seen previously in 5.1, Swahili has a limited number of simple adjectives, that is, single terms whose primary role is to qualify a noun. However, this is compensated for by various phrases used in the same position as simple adjectives and which serve to qualify nouns. Many of these constructions, often called “adjectival phrases”, are based on the conjunction -a “of; for” or the pronoun -enye “with; that has/have; characterized by”. The following paragraphs describe various forms of adjectival phrases, as well as adjectives that derive from verbs.

21.1. Adjectival phrases with the conjunction -a 21.1.1 Conjunction -a + infinitive form With adjectival phrases based on the conjunction -a and an infinitive form, the qualified noun generally corresponds to the implicit subject of the verb, as in (1a). Accordingly, cha kutisha “scary” corresponds to ambacho kinatisha “which scares”. However, with a few verbs, the qualified noun corresponds to a direct object of the verb, the conjunction -a having a “purpose” connotation (see “for” in 1b). It may also correspond to an applicative object introduced by the applicative suffix -i-/-e- with a “topic/purpose” connotation (see -i-/-e- “for/about” in (1c–d)). (1) Adjective groups based on the conjunction -a and an infinitive form a.

b. c. d.

Source verb

Adjective group

kutisha “to scare” kupendeza “to please” kutosha “to suffice” kusikitisha “sadden” kufurahisha “to please/ make happy” kusisimua “to thrill/excite” kupindukia “be excessive” kudumu “to last/be permanent” kukaanga “to fry” kuchemsha “to boil sth.” kupika “to cook” kuchapisha “to print” kuandika “to write” kufurahi “be happy”

-a kutisha “scary” -a kupendeza “nice; pleasant” -a kutosha “enough; sufficient” -a kusikitisha “saddening” -a kufurahisha “enjoyable/ pleasant/pleasurable” -a kusisimua “thrilling/exciting” -a kupindukia “excessive” -a kudumu “durable/permanent” -a kukaanga “for frying/fried” -a kuchemsha “for boiling/boiled” -a kupikia “(for) cooking” -a kuchapishia “(for) printing” -a kuandikia “(for) writing” (-i- “for”) -a kufurahia “delightful” (lit. “to be happy about”/-i- “about”)

You will observe that adjectival phrases of the form “conjunction -a + infinitive form” generally serve to qualify actions, states, or objects (2). However, some of them may apply

Adjectives in a broad sense

164

to animates, as shown in (3). In addition, the construction -a kutosha “enough” can be used as an adverb, with the prefix vi-, as shown in (4). (2) Use of adjectival phrases with the possessive -a and an infinitive form a. b. c. d. e.

viazi vya kukaanga habari ya kufurahisha nguo za kupendeza umasikini wa kupindukia mafuta ya kupikia

“fried potatoes” “enjoyable news” “pleasant clothes” “excessive poverty” “cooking oil”

(3) Use of adjectival phrases with the possessive -a and a verb applied to humans a. b. c.

Leo tuna wateja wa kutosha “Today we have enough customers” Mimi ni mkazi wa kudumu nchini Kenya “I am a permanent resident in Kenya” Msituni mle mna nyoka wa kutisha “In that forest, there are scary snakes”

(4) Asante. Nadhani naelewa vya kutosha

“Thanks. I think I understand enough”

Importantly, not all verbs may be used in the “-a + infinitive form” adjectival formation, even though verbs that indicate a change in state, a persisting state, or the notion of manipulation seem predominant in this category. Ultimately, for expressions like those in (1–4), the speaker must learn them with use. Here, one has to think of verb-derived adjectives in English such as those that use the gerund suffix -ing (e.g. “amaze” → “amazing”). 21.1.2 Conjunction -a + noun As shown in (5), various categories of nouns may be used in adjectival phrases based on the conjunction -a. Some of those nouns refer to a given quality or state (5a–b) or to the kind of material an object is made of (5c). The examples in (6) illustrate the use of these types of phrases. (5) Adjective groups based on the conjunction -a and a noun

a.

b.

Source noun

Adjective group

huruma “compassion” upendo “love” uongo “deceit” ukweli “truth” haki “right” binafsi “individuality” ujinga “stupidity” upuuzi “idiocy” raha “bliss; comfort” anasa “luxury” amani “peace” siri “a secret” haraka “haste” lazima “obligation” maana “meaning; importance” joto “heat” ajabu “wonder; amazement”

-a huruma “compassionate” -a upendo “loving” -a uongo “deceptive” -a ukweli/-a kweli “truthful/true” -a haki “rightful; fair” -a binafsi “private” -a ujinga “stupid” -a upuuzi “idiotic” -a raha “fancy; blissful” -a anasa “luxurious” -a amani “peaceful” -a siri “secret”, -a haraka “hasty” -a lazima “obligatory” -a maana “meaningful; important” -a joto “hot (geographic)” -a ajabu “amazing; incredible”

Adjectives in a broad sense 165 c.

Source noun

Adjective group

ubao/mbao “board(s)” chuma “metal” jiwe/mawe “stone(s)” ngozi “skin; hide; leather”

-a -a -a -a

mbao “made of boards; wooden” chuma “metallic” mawe “stony; made of stones” ngozi “made of leather”

(6) Use of adjectival phrases with the possessive -a and a noun a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

maneno ya haraka maneno ya uongo maneno ya ukweli kiongozi wa kweli mpenzi wa siri viatu vya ngozi meza ya mbao

“hasty words” “deceptive words” “truthful words” “a true leader” “a secret lover” “leather shoes” “wooden table”

As seen in (6c–d), the adjectival phrase ukweli has the connotation of “truthfulness”, while the form without the class prefix, that is, kweli, means “true”. The form kweli “true” is also used as a single adjective in impersonal constructions (7a), or as an intensity adverb that qualifies a whole sentence (7b–c). (7) a. b. c.

Ni kweli, Hamisi ni mwongo Kweli Hamisi ni mwongo Hamisi kweli ni mwongo

“It is true, Hamisi is a liar” “Truly, Hamisi is a liar” “Hamisi truly is a liar”

In addition to single color adjectives like those seen in 5.1 and 9.2, color qualification may also use the pattern “conjunction -a + noun”. The most common color terms using this pattern are listed in Table 21.1 (see TUKI 2001, BAKIZA 2010, or Mdee et al. 2011 for additional terms). Table 21.1 Color terms using the pattern “conjunction -a + noun”

a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. p.

Source word

Adjectival phrase

kahawa “coffee” maji ya kunde “pea sauce” hudhurungi “kind of brown cloth” majani makavu “dry leaves” damu ya mzee “old man’s blood” kaki “khaki color” jani/majani “leaf(ves)”; -bichi “raw; fresh” majivu “ashes” doa/madoa “spot; freckle” manjano [ma-ya] “turmeric” mtindi “sour milk” rangi ya maziwa “color of milk” rangi “color; paint” waridi “rose” zambarau “jambolan plum (sort of fruit)” samawati “sky” (in poetry) nili “dark blue color” English word “blue”

-a kahawia “dark brown” -a maji ya kunde “brown” -a hudhurungi “light brown” -a majani makavu “light brown” -a damu ya mzee “maroon” -a kaki “khaki” -a kijani (kibichi) “green” -a kijivu “gray” -a madoadoa “spotted” -a manjano/-a njano “yellow” -a mtindi “cream” -a (rangi ya) maziwa “cream” -a rangi “colored” -a waridi “pink” -a zambarau “purple” -a samawati “sky blue; light blue” -a nili “dark blue; indigo; navy blue” -a bluu, -a buluu “blue”

166

Adjectives in a broad sense

With the adjectival phrases in (8), the conjunction -a is optionally omitted, which makes the qualifying noun appears as a single adjective (9). As shown in (10), the three terms listed in (8) may also be used in impersonal constructions as single adjectives, that is, without the conjunction -a. (8)

Optional use of the conjunction -a in some adjectival phrases with a noun

a. b. c. (9)

Source noun

Adjectival phrase

moto “fire” baridi “the cold” hatari “danger”

(-a) moto/(-a) moto moto “hot”/“very hot” (-a) baridi “cold” (-a) hatari “dangerous”

Examples of adjectival phrases optionally using the conjunction -a a. b. c.

Wangependa bia mbili (za) baridi Mimi nitakunywa chai (ya) moto Hamisi anakaa katika eneo (la) hatari

“They would like two cold beers” “I will drink hot tea” “Hamisi lives in a dangerous area”

(10) Use of nouns as single adjectives in impersonal constructions a. b.

Chumbani mle ni baridi/moto sana Ni hatari kutembea usiku

“It is very cold/hot in that room” “Walking at night is dangerous”

21.1.3 Conjunction -a + numeral, locative, or temporal term vs. -a ki- pattern Constructions based on the conjunction -a followed by an ordinal number, or a locative/ temporal adverb or phrase, produce an important set of adjectival phrases. Some of them are listed in (11), with examples of use in (12). (11) Adjectival phrases with -a + ordinal number, or locative/temporal adverb or phrase a. b. c. d. e.

-a kwanza “first”, -a pili “second”, -a tatu “third” . . . -a mwanzo “initial”, -a kati (katikati) “central; medial”, -a mwisho “final” -a mbali “distant”, -a karibu “close (proximity)” -a sasa “current” (lit. “of now”); -a zamani “former/past” (lit. “of long ago”) -a kila siku “quotidian; everyday + noun” -a nje “external”, -a ndani “internal (interior); private (related to privacy)”, -a kulia “right”, -a kushoto “left”, -a juu “high; upper”, -a chini “low; lower”, -a chinichini “very low; also: secret”, -a juujuu “superficial”, -a nyumbani “domestic; home [staying]” (lit. “of in the house”), -a porini “wild” (lit. “of in the bush”)

(12) Using adjectival phrases with -a + ordinal number or locative adverb/phrase a. b. c.

ndugu zangu wa karibu mama wa nyumbani mnyama wa porini

“my close relatives” “a stay-at-home mom” “wild animal”

Some nouns that inherently express quality are also transformed into adjectives using the conjunction -a followed by the adverbial prefix ki-, which replaces the original prefix of the noun (13a–c). The -a ki- pattern may also be added to an inherent adverb to imply

Adjectives in a broad sense 167 additional connotation, as in (13d) (compare with (11e)). Examples of use are given in (14). Importantly, the particle -a of the -a ki- pattern is a conjunction and, therefore, must be used in reference to a noun, and not in impersonal constructions. However, generic nouns such as kitu (cha)/jambo (la) “something (of )” added before the adverb allow the use of impersonal constructions, as in (14d). (13) Examples of adjectival phrases with -a + adverbial prefix kia. b.

c. d.

Source noun/adverb

Adjectival phrase

mke “woman” mume “man” mtoto “child” mjinga “fool” katili “brute” mwenyeji “local person” jadi “tradition” mtaalamu “specialist” mshenzi “uncivilized person” rafiki “friend”

-a kike “female” -a kiume “male” -a kitoto “childish” -a kijinga “foolish” -a kikatili “brutal” -a kienyeji “local, informal” -a kijadi “traditional” -a kitaalamu “specialized” -a kishenzi “uncivilized” -a kirafiki “friendly (e.g. of a match, relationship)” -a kiafrika “African” -a kichina “Chinese” -a kimarekani “American” -a kisasa “modern; up-to-date” -a kizamani “outdated” -a kipekee “unique/exceptional”

Afrika “Africa” Uchina “China” Marekani “America” sasa “now” zamani “ago” pekee “alone”

(14) Using adjectival phrases with -a + adverbial prefix kia. b. c. d.

Mimi sipendi sana pombe za kienyeji, ninapenda zaidi pombe za kisasa Nina watoto wawili wa kike, na mmoja wa kiume Ulikuwa mchezo wa kirafiki Ni jambo la kijinga kuendesha gari bila leseni

“I don’t like local beer very much, I like modern beer better” “I have two female children, and one male child” “This was a friendly match” “It is (something) foolish to drive without a license”

The examples in (15) illustrate the optional preservation of the abstract class prefix uin the presence of the adverbial prefix ki- previously mentioned in 20.2. (15) Optional use of the adverb prefix ki- along with the abstract noun prefix ua. b. c. d. e. f.

ujanja “slyness” upweke “loneliness; solitude” unyama “inhumanity; savagery” (mnyama “animal”) ujinga “foolishness” ukatili “brutality” ukoloni “colonialism”

maneno ya kiujanja/kijanja “sly words” maisha ya kiupweke/kipweke “solitary life” kitendo cha kiunyama/ kinyama

“savage act”

vitendo vya kiujinga/kijinga “foolish actions” uongozi wa kiukatili/kikatili “brutal governance” tabia za kiukoloni/kikoloni “colonial attitudes”

168

Adjectives in a broad sense g. h.

upuuzi “absurdity” utamaduni “culture”

swali la kiupuuzi/kipuuzi sherehe za kiutamaduni/ kitamaduni

“absurd question” “cultural celebrations”

Similar to the adverbial pattern seen in 20.2(5), the adjectival -a ki- structure is frequently used with simple nouns that keep their original prefix. This particular construction conveys the notion of “pertaining to”, as shown in (16). (16) The pattern -a ki- applied to a simple noun with its original prefix Base

Adjectival group

Example

Gloss

a. mapenzi “love” b. jamii “society” c. raia “citizen” d. siasa “politics” e. mkoa “region” f. taifa “nation” g. mataifa “nations”

-a kimapenzi “romantic” -a kijamii “social” -a kiraia “civil” -a kisiasa “political” -a kimkoa “regional” -a kitaifa “national” -a kimataifa “international”

uhusiano wa kimapenzi

a love relationship

mitandao ya kijamii

social networks

mapinduzi ya kiraia

civil revolution

vitendo vya kisiasa

political actions

tawi la kimkoa

regional branch

habari za kitaifa

national news report international company

shirika la kimataifa

21.2. Adjectival phrases based on -enye “with” vs. bila “without” The construction based on the pronoun -enye “with; that has/that have”, or the conjunction bila “without” followed by a noun, produces a virtually unlimited number of adjectival phrases. Instead of bila, the negative relative form of the verb “have” may also be used, which gives asiye na/wasio na “that has/have not” in animate classes, and the pattern [class-si-class-o na] in non-animate classes. The examples in (17) and (18) illustrate these patterns with animate and non-animate nouns, respectively. (17) Adjectival phrases with “-enye” vs. “bila, asiye/wasio na” in the animate class a. b. c. d. e. f.

ujuzi “knowledge” furaha “joy” huruma “compassion” maringo “attitudes” kelele “noise” kipara “baldness”

msichana mwenye ujuzi msichana bila ujuzi watoto wenye furaha watoto bila furaha watu wenye huruma watu wasio na huruma kijana mwenye maringo kijana asiye na maringo mbwa mwenye makelele mbwa asiye na makelele mwanamume mwenye kipara mwanamume asiye na kipara

a knowledgeable girl a non-knowledgeable girl joyful children gloomy children (lit. without joy) compassionate people non-compassionate people a youngster that has attitudes a youngster without attitudes a noisy dog a non-noisy dog a bald man a non-bald man

Adjectives in a broad sense 169 (18) Adjectival phrases with “-enye + noun” vs. “bila” in non-animate classes a. b. c. d. e. f.

amani “peace” mwanga “light” maana “meaning” sukari “sugar” mafuta “oil; fat [noun]” chumvi “salt”

nchi yenye amani nchi bila amani nyumba yenye mwanga nyumba bila mwanga maneno yenye maana maneno yasiyo na maana mkate wenye sukari mkate usio na sukari nyama yenye mafuta nyama isiyo na mafuta

a peaceful country (lit. with peace) a troubled country (lit. without peace) a bright house (lit. with light) a dark house (lit. without light) meaningful words meaningless words bread with sugar/sugary bread bread without sugar fatty meat meager/lean meat

chakula chenye chumvi chakula kisicho na chumvi

salty food unsalted food

Instead of a noun, the infinitive form of some verbs also may be used after the pronoun -enye to qualify a noun (19). (19) Possessive -enye + infinitive form vs. relative negative a. b.

Watu wenye kupenda amani Maswali yenye kusumbua

“peace-loving people” “annoying questions”

21.3. Verb-derived adjectives using the suffix -vu/-fu Besides inherent adjectives, different verb stems are transformed into noun or adjective stems by adjoining the suffix -vu or -fu to them. Non-sonorant consonants /p,k/ in a verb stem’s last syllable are generally replaced by the suffix with a non-sonorant consonant -fu, as shown in (20a–h, 24a–c). Similarly, sonorant consonants /v,z/ are replaced by the suffix with a sonorant consonant -vu, as shown in (21e–g). In general, verb stems ending with the vowel /a/ preceded by another vowel also use the suffix -vu, as in (21a–d, 25). Conversely, those ending with a nasal consonant /n,ny/ and foreign verbs ending in /i,e,u/ use a suffix of the form -ifu by default (20i–l, 24d–h). As shown in (22–25), verb-derived adjectives ending in -vu/-fu generally agree with their head-noun, similar to inherited adjectives. However, many of them only agree with a noun in the animate class, while they remain invariable in the presence of a non-animate headnoun (23) (see also cases listed with a slash mark in (20–21)). The lists in (20–25) are not exhaustive but give the most common stems. (20) Verb-derived adjectives using the suffix -fu/-ifu a. b. c.

-kunjuka “be relaxed” -tukuka “be exalted/revered” -badilika “change (self )”

d. e.

-timilika (-timia) “be completed” -nyooka “be straight/honest”

-kunjufu “relaxed; cheerful” -tukufu “exalted; glorious” -badilifu/badilifu “changeable; inconstant” -timilifu “complete; perfect” -nyoofu “straight; honest”

170

Adjectives in a broad sense f. g. h. i. j. k. l.

-potoka “be misguided” -takatika “be pure” (-takata “be clean”) -ogopa “fear” -danganya “lie; deceive”

-potofu “misleading; pervert” -takatifu “holy; sacred; saint” -ogofu/ogofu “fearful/cowardly person” -danganyifu/danganyifu “false; deceitful” -linganifu/linganifu “matching; symmetrical” -bunifu/bunifu “creative; imaginative” -haribifu/haribifu “destructive”

-lingana “be equal/similar; match” -buni “build; create; imagine” -haribu “spoil”

(Note the merger between the verb-final vowel and the suffix vowel: i-i > i; u-i > i.) (21) Verb-derived adjectives using the suffix -vu a. b.

-legea “loosen; be slack” -kakamaa “become hard/stiff ”

c. d. e.

-tulia “calm down, be calm/quiet” -pea “to mature; be ripe” -angaza “illuminate; shine”

f. g.

-oza “rot” -iva “ripen, be ripe; be cooked”

-legevu/legevu “slack; loose” -kakamavu/kakamavu “hard; stiff; firm; tough; tenacious” -tulivu/tulivu “calm; quiet” -pevu “mature; fully grown; ripe” -angavu/angavu “transparent; bright; clever” -bovu “defective; rotten; evil” -bivu “ripe”

(Note that the adjective stems in (21f–g) begin with a consonant /b/ that is absent in the verb bases; see 21.4.) (22) Examples using verb-derived adjectives with the suffix -fu/-vu a. b. c. d.

-kunjuka “be relax” -nyooka “be straight/honest” -pea “to mature; be ripe” -oza “to rot”

→ uso/moyo mkunjufu → njia/tabia nyoofu → matunda mapevu → magari mabovu

“a cheerful heart/face” “straight path/character” “ripe fruits” “defective cars”

(23) Use of verb-derived adjectives with the suffix -fu/-vu that are invariable in the non-animate class a. b. c. d. e.

uongozi legevu vs. kiongozi mlegevu kioo angavu vs. mwanafunzi mwangavu mkono kakamavu vs. mshindani mkakamavu viungo timilifu vs. mtu mtimilifu mitandao badilifu vs. viongozi wabadilifu

“loose leadership/ loose leader” “transparent glass/ a bright student” “a firm hand/ a tough competitor” “complete organs/ a perfect individual” “changeable networks/ inconstant leaders”

Adjectives in a broad sense 171 Due to the meaning of their base verbs, many of the verb-derived adjectives ending in -vu/-fu also are limited to nouns in the animate class, as shown in (24–25). However, like most nouns or adjectives, they may be derived in class [mu-u] to express “abstraction”, by replacing their prefixes with u- (the “abstract” derivation is presented in Language note 8.1). (24) Verb-derived adjectives using the suffix -fu/-ifu exclusively in the animate class a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

-aminika “be trustworthy” -changamka “be cheerful” -choka “get/be tired” -tamani “to desire” -zini “commit adultery” -tii “obey; conform; be submissive” -samehe “forgive” -sahau “forget”

mwaminifu “trustworthy” mchangamfu “cheerful; good-humored” mchofu “weary” mtamanifu “ambitious/desirous” mzinifu “adulterous” mtiifu “obedient; submissive” msamehefu “forgiving; merciful” msahaulifu “forgetful”

(Note final/suffix vowel merger /e-i → e/ in (24g); liaison consonant -l- in (24h), also seen in 18.2.) (25) Verb-derived adjectives using the suffix -vu exclusively in the animate class a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

-lemaa “be crippled/disabled” -pumbaa “be foolish/dazed” -nyamaa “shut up; be silent” -sikia “hear; pay attention; obey” -angalia “pay attention” -onea “oppress” -nyenyekea “be humble/ respectful (toward)”

mlemavu “disabled person” mpumbavu “fool; idiot” mnyamavu “quiet/taciturn person” msikivu “attentive/obedient person” mwangalivu “attentive person” mwonevu “tyrannous/oppressive person” mnyenyekevu “humble/deferential person”

As shown in (26), adjective stems restricted to the animate class may still be used in other classes, through the -a ki- transformation seen before (21.1.3). (26) a. b. c. d.

mwonevu: mpumbavu: mnyenyekevu: mzinifu

vitendo vya kionevu majibu ya kipumbavu lugha ya kinyenyekevu tabia za kizinifu

“oppressive acts” “foolish answers” “deferential language” “adulterous behavior”

21.4. Origin of the noun/adjective suffix -fu/-vu (advanced analysis) As mentioned before, verbs stems ending with a sonorant consonant produce nouns and adjective stems with the suffix -vu, while those ending with a non-sonorant consonant produce stems with the suffix -fu. This reflects a spirantization process that historically transformed the original sonorant stops (*b,*d,*j,*g) into the sonorant spirant /v/, and the original non-sonorant stops/affricate (*p,*t,*ʧ,*k) into the non-sonorant spirant /f/ in contact with closed vowel *u (refer to Mpiranya 1998 for details).

172

Adjectives in a broad sense

The use of the suffix -vu in the presence of verb stems ending in /aa, ia, ea, oa, ua/ reflects the contact between the vowel *-u with sonorant consonants such as /l/ or /w/ that generally have disappeared in the word-final syllable. As the spirantization process generally did not affect nasal consonants (m,n,ɲ), the suffix -fu is used after a stem nasal consonant by default, along with a liaison vowel /i/. In addition, the use of the sequence -ifu as the default suffix has been extended to verbs of foreign origin ending in /i,e,u/. Regarding the phonetic aspect of verb-derived adjectives, there exist different cases of -vu/-fu variation depending on the speaker. This is the case for mwangalivu/mwangalifu “attentive person”; mchofu/mchovu “weary”; msamehefu/msamehevu “forgiving, merciful”; mzoevu/mzoefu “experienced/accustomed person” (from kuzoea “become used to, get accustomed to”). We also have -potofu/-potovu “misguided; also pervert, perverse, immoral” (from -potoka “be misguided” or -potoa “to pervert”; e.g. imani potofu/potovu “misguided belief ”, mwenendo mpotovu “immoral conduct”). In addition, the verb -sumbua “bother, annoy” gives -sumbufu “bothersome, annoying”, though other verbs ending in Vowel + a produce adjectives in -vu (but see also -sumbuka “get/be bothered, annoyed”, which may have given the noun usumbufu “bother, annoyance; nuisance”). On the other hand, adjectives such as -kuu “big; great” or -gumu “hard” do not derive from current verbs kukua “to grow up” and kuguma “become hard”. They reflect an archaic derivation that used the non-closed suffix vowel *-ʊ, as non-closed vowels did not prompt spirantization (see Common Bantu *-kúd- “grow up”/*-kúdú “big; adult”, which become -kula/-kulu, then -kua/-kuu in contemporary Swahili; see also *-gʊm- “become hard”/ *-gʊmʊ “hard”, which became -guma/-gumu). In addition, the alternations of -oza/-bovu “to rot/rotten” and -iva/-bivu “ripen/ripe” seen in (21f–g) reflect a stem-initial consonant /b/ that has historically disappeared in most contexts (see Common Bantu *-bɔd- “rot”, *-bɪ́dʊ- “be ripe/cooked”). It is unclear if -ovu “evil; vile” derives historically from the same root *-bɔd-, but through a different path (e.g. mwovu/waovu “evil person/people”; maovu “evil acts”).

21.5. Application exercises (27) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

Juma has a modern house. His living room is very pleasant. He wrote a very pleasurable story. Your students are very creative! (Hint: kubuni “create”.) Many people like doing dangerous things these days. Truly, this is sad (saddening) news. We do not have enough chairs today. Which American game do you know? This food is rotten. I think the tea is hot now. Mariam has scored an exciting goal.

Adjectives in a broad sense 173

21.6. Cumulative exercises (28) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k.

I think your friend envies you (lit. sees envy for you). If I go to the market, I will bring you a hat. Each time I drink milk, I think of my grandmother. We will not eat at home today. We eat in a restaurant every Sunday. Our car overturned and had its windows broken. I heard them arguing very loudly. If you had money, where would you like to travel? My mother sends me money from home. Beer is not allowed in this park/garden. These beignets truly smell good. The director is happy about the new workers.

22 Noun formation and augmentative/ diminutive processes

This section addresses various processes used to create new nouns from other nouns or types of words. These processes use suffixes, prefixes, and the combination of two different words.

22.1. Noun creation from verbs using suffixes In addition to the adjective formation, the suffix -vu/-fu seen in 21.3 is also used to produce nouns from verbs. However, this process is relatively rare as far as noun creation is concerned. Examples of nouns derived from verbs using the suffix -vu/-fu are given in (1). As shown in (1c), the variant -ifu is used after a nasal consonant, similar to what we have seen with adjectives (21.3). In the following lists, plural forms or noun classes that do not follow common patterns are systematically noted. (1) Verb-derived nouns using the suffix -vu/-fu

f.

-umia “suffer” -okoa “to rescue” -fana “be good; be successful (action)” -punguka “be incomplete” -kosa “err; offend; transgress (intr.)” -kosa “lack; miss”

g.

-chelewa “be late”

a. b. c. d. e.

→ maumivu → wokovu [mu-u] → ufanifu

“pain; ache” “rescue; salvation” “success (of an action)”

→ upungufu/ma(adj. -pungufu → mkosefu (adj. kosefu → ukosefu (adj. kosefu → mkosefu wa + noun → uchelevu (adj. chelevu

“deficiency(ies); flaw(s); shortage” “deficient”) “guilty person; offender” “incorrect”) “lack of; deficiency” “deficient”) “lacking + sth.; that lack(s) + sth.” “lateness” “often late; retrograde”)

The other suffixes commonly found in the formation of nouns from verbs are -aji, -i, -o, and -e. In particular, the suffix -aji, which expresses the notion of “agent” of the action, applies to all kinds of verbs of action (2). When used with the abstract prefix u-, the suffix -aji expresses the notion of “action/fact of doing”. This appears to be a virtually unlimited process in terms of developing new nouns. The suffix -aji is especially used to refer to new professionals or professional operations (3).

Noun formation vs. class variation 175 (2) Suffix -aji referring to the agent of an action (cl. [mu-yu,a/wa-wa]) and the fact of doing (cl. [mu-u]) a.

-winda “hunt”

b. c. d. e. f.

-tenda “do” -soma “read” -pigana “fight” -fuga “rear (animals)” -chonga “carve”

→ mwindaji/wawindaji; + uwindaji → mtendaji; + utendaji → msomaji; + usomaji → mpiganaji; + upiganaji → mfugaji; + ufugaji → mchongaji; + uchongaji

“hunter(s); + hunting” “doer; + action” “reader; + reading” “fighter; + fighting” “breeder; + husbandry” “carver; + carving”

(3) Suffix -aji used for professional terms in class [mu-yu,a/wa-wa] and [mu-u] a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h

-sema “say; speak” -cheza “play” -tangaza “announce; broadcast” -uza “sell” -beba “transport” -pasua “operate (surgery)” -taifisha “nationalize” (taifa “nation”) -andika “write; register”

→ msemaji; + usemaji → mchezaji; + uchezaji → mtangazaji; + utangazaji → muuzaji; + uuzaji → mbebaji; + ubebaji → mpasuaji; + upasuaji

“speaker; + speaking” “player; + playing” “announcer; + broadcasting” “seller; + sale” “porter; transportation” “surgeon; surgery”

→ utaifishaji

“nationalization”

→ uandikaji

“registration”

The suffix -i also indicates the agent of action, though it may express different connotations in some cases. Though relatively common, the suffix -i is restricted to certain verb stems. As shown in the following examples in (4), the suffix -i generally alters the final consonant of the stem (e.g. k-i → shi; t-i > si; p-i > fi; w-i > vi; b-i → vi or zi; d,l,g-i → zi). In addition, verbs ending in Vowel + a give nominal stems ending in /zi/, which reflects a furtive consonant -l- that has generally disappeared in the word-final syllable (similar changes are observed with the causative suffix -y- in 18.3). Finally, nasal consonants and some instances of the complex consonant /nd/ and /mb/ are also not affected by the suffix vowel -i, as shown in (5a–b) and (5c–d) respectively. (4) Suffix -i expressing the agent of an action and other connotations a.

-andika “write”

b. c. d. e. f. g.

-fuata “follow” -lapa “eat ravenously” -lewa “become drunk” -gombana “quarrel” -iba “steal” -loga “bewitch”

→ mwandishi; + maandishi → mfuasi → mlafi → mlevi; + ulevi → ugomvi/magomvi → mwizi; + wizi [mu-u] → mlozi; + ulozi [mu-u]

h.

-lala “sleep; lie down”

→ malazi

“writer; + writings” “follower” “glutton” “drunkard; + alcoholism” “quarrel(s)” “thief; + theft” “witch; wizard; sorcerer; witchcraft” “bedding; boarding”

176

Noun formation vs. class variation i. j. k. l.

-penda “like; + love” -lea “bring up” -kaa “reside” -pokea “receive”

m. -nyoa “cut hair” n.

-ongoza “lead”

“fan; lover; + love” “custodian; + upbringing” “resident; + residence” “reception”

→ → → →

mpenzi; + mapenzi mlezi; + malezi mkazi; + makazi mapokezi (rare: upokezi) → kinyozi/vi[mu-yu,a/wa-wa] → kiongozi/vi[mu-yu,a/wa-wa]

“barber” “leader”

(5) Nasal consonants and cases of consonant /nd/ and /mb/ not affected by the suffix -i a. b. c. d.

-shindana “compete” -soma “study; learn” -shinda “win” -omba “request; pray”

→ → → →

mshindani msomi mshindi; + ushindi ombi/maombi

“competitor; rival” “learned person; intellectual” “winner; victor; + victory” “request(s); prayer(s)”

Like the suffix -i, the suffix -o is relatively common, though restricted to certain verb stems. In most cases, it indicates the implement of the action or the implementation/result of the action (6). (6) Suffix -o expressing the implement or implement/result of the action a. b. c. d.

-sikia “hear” -funika “to cover” -fungua “open” -kumbusha “remind”

→ → → →

e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. p. q. r

-onyesho “to show” -vuna “to harvest” -zungumza “converse” -pambana “to fight” -endelea “to progress” -lipa “pay” -isha “to end” -la “eat” -lia “cry; roar” -pata “get” -kaa “sit” -andika “write” -chora “draw” -umba “create; shape”

→ → → → → → → → → → → → → →

sikio/masikio mfuniko; + kifuniko ufunguo/funguo ukumbusho; + makumbusho onyesho/maonyesho mavuno mazungumzo mapambano maendeleo malipo mwisho mlo mlio kipato kikao mwandiko mchoro umbo/maumbo

“ear(s)” “a cover; + lid” “key(s)” “reminder; + museum” “a show; act [drama]” “harvest” “conversation” “fight” “progress” “payment” “end” “meal” “cry; shout; bang sound” “income” “session; meeting” “writing; handwriting” “drawing” “shape(s); structure(s)”

Noun formation vs. class variation 177 Finally the suffix -e, which is relatively rare, indicates in most cases the target or the result of the action. The most common examples are listed in (7). (7) Suffix -e expressing the target or the result of the action a. b.

-tuma “send on an errand” -umba “create”

c.

-teua “choose; select”

d. e. f.

-lisha “feed” (-la “eat”) -kama “dry out; become arid” -shinda “win; vanquish”

g. h.

-vimba “swell” -pamba “decorate”

→ mtume → kiumbe/vi[mu-yu,a/wa-wa] → mteule; + teule (non-anim.) → lishe [n-i] → ukame; + kame → mshinde; + ushinde → kivimbe → mpambe

i

-pinda “bend”

→ upinde/pinde

“messenger; prophet” “creature; being” “elect; appointed; chosen” “nutrition; nutrient” “drought; + dry; arid” “loser; vanquished; + defeat” “swelling; circumference” lit. “decorated person, bridesmaid; best man; aide-de-camp” “bow(s)”

22.2. Noun creation from other nouns or from adjectives/locatives In addition to the suffixes seen above, nouns are also formed by changing the class prefix of a noun or by adding a noun class prefix to a stem with which it is usually not associated. The most commonly used prefix for this process is the abstract class prefix u-, which produces a virtually unlimited number of nouns from other nouns, from adjectives and, exceptionally, from locative prepositions (8–11). As shown in (8a–c), (9a–c), and (10a–b), some derived nouns in u- involve additional connotations, beside the simple notion of abstractness (other cases are seen in 8.1). (8) Production of nouns from other nouns using the prefix ua. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

mnyama balozi/ma- (anim.) binafsi gaidi/ma- (anim.) mtoto fundi/ma- (anim.) bingwa/ma(anim.) mhandisi

“animal” “ambassador” “individuality” “terrorist” “child” “craftsman” “expert; champion” “engineer”

unyama ubalozi ubinafsi ugaidi utoto ufundi ubingwa uhandisi

“inhumanity; savagery” “embassy; ambassadorship” “individualism; egotism” “terrorism” “childhood” “craftsmanship” “championship (title); expertise” “engineering”

178

Noun formation vs. class variation

(9) Production of nouns from adjectives using the prefix ua. b. c. d. e.

-chafu -baya hai -aminifu -bichi

f. g. h. i. j.

-fupi -gumu -zito jasiri -kali

k.

maskini

“dirty” “bad” “alive” “honest; reliable” “raw (uncooked); fresh (green)” “short” “hard; difficult” “heavy” “brave” “fierce; severe; intense” “poor”

uchafu ubaya uhai uaminifu ubichi ufupi ugumu uzito ujasiri ukali umaskini

“dirt; filth” “evil; badness” “life” “honesty; reliability” “rawness (food); fresh (green)” “brevity; shortness” “hardness; difficulty” “weight” “bravery” “fierceness; severity; intensity” “poverty”

(10) Production of nouns from locative prepositions using the prefix ua. b. c.

mbali ndani karibu

“far” “inside” “close; near”

umbali “distance” undani “core/heart of the matter” ukaribu “proximity”

(11) Using locative-derived nouns a. b. c.

Nyumba yako iko umbali gani kutoka hapa? “At what distance is your house from here?” Iko umbali wa maili tatu kutoka hapa “It is at a three-mile distance from here” Alifafanua swala hili kwa undani “He explained this issue fully”

Another process creates new animate nouns by assigning an animate class prefix to a non-animate stem. This process, which is quite rare, involves a change in meaning, as shown in (12). (12) Noun formation from other nouns using the prefix mu-/waa. b.

shamba/ma“field; rural area” ushirika “union; co-operative”

mshamba/wa“rustic person(s); lout(s)” mshirika/wa“partner(s); associate(s)”

In addition to the use of prefixes, a great number of technical terms or terms referring to new occupations and entities are produced by compounding two different nouns, or a noun with an adjective or numeral. The list in (13) shows compound nouns based on mwana/ wana, which means “specialist”, “member”, or “actor”, depending on the context, instead of “child/children; offspring(s)” originally (the plural for all nouns in (13) follows the model seen in (13a)).

Noun formation vs. class variation 179 (13) Compound nouns based on mwana/wana “party; association” b. nchi “country” c. siasa “politics” d. maji “water” e. hewa “air” f. jeshi/ma- “army” g. anga “sky” h. sheria “law” i. chuo “college” j. habari “news” k. mitindo “style; fashion” l. muziki “music m. riadha “athletics (track and field)” n. michezo “sports” o. isimu “linguistics” p. familia “family” a.

chama

“member (party/association) members (party/association)” “citizen” “politician” “sailor” “aviator” “soldier” “astronaut” “lawyer” “college/university student” “journalist” “model (artist)” “musician” “athlete (track and field)” mwanamichezo “sportsman/woman” mwanaisimu “linguist” mwanafamilia “family member” mwanachama/ wanachama mwananchi mwanasiasa mwanamaji mwanahewa mwanajeshi mwanaanga mwanasheria mwanachuo mwanahabari mwanamitindo mwanamuziki mwanariadha

In (14) are listed modern compound nouns based on elimu “knowledge; education”, as well as nouns created by combining nouns and adjectives or numerals (additional terms may be found in TUKI 2000, 2001, Mohamed 2011). (14) Compound nouns based on elimu “knowledge, education” and various other nouns a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m.

jamii msitu lishe (-la “eat”) mdudu pembe; mraba pembe; tatu pembe; nne pembe; tano mali; ghafi mali; asili asili; mia maili; mraba kilomita; mraba

“society” “forest” “nutrient” “insect” “corner; square” “corner; three” “corner; four” “corner; five” “wealth; raw” “wealth; origin” “source; hundred” “mile; square” “kilometer; square”

elimu jamii elimu misitu elimu lishe elimu wadudu pembemraba pembetatu pembenne pembetano mali ghafi mali asili asilimia maili mraba kilomita mraba

“sociology” “forestry” “dietetics” “entomology” “right angle” “triangle” “rectangle” “pentagon” “raw material” “natural resources” “percentage; percent” “square mile” “square kilometer”

22.3. Noun formation from verbs and verb phrases using prefixes Many nouns referring to different functions and social statuses are formed by replacing the prefix ku- of the infinitive with an animate class prefix mu-/wa-. This process applies to infinitive verbs in both active and passive forms (15a–d, 15e–k). As shown in (16), some of the nouns formed in this manner may be used as adjectives.

180

Noun formation vs. class variation

(15) Infinitive-derived nouns in the animate class a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k.

kugombea kuumba kushtaki kutawala kushtakiwa kutawaliwa kufiwa (f-i-iw-a) kulipwa kutuhumiwa kuzaliwa kudaiwa

“fight for” “create” “accuse” “administer; govern” “be accused” “be governed” “lose someone (by death)” “be paid” “be suspected” “be born” “be indebted”

mgombea muumba mshtaki mtawala mshtakiwa mtawaliwa mfiwa

“candidate; contestant” “creator” “accuser; plaintiff” “administrator” “defendant; accused” “constituent” “bereaved person”

mlipwa mtuhumiwa mzaliwa mdaiwa

“payee” “suspect” “native” “debtor”

(16) Infinitive-derived nouns used as adjectives a. b. c.

kualikwa “be invited” → mwalimu mwalikwa kupendwa “be loved” → mtoto wake mpendwa tarajiwa “be expected” → kiongozi mtarajiwa

“a guest teacher” “his beloved child” “future leader” (lit. “expected leader”)

The process described in the previous paragraph also applies to some verb phrases involving an infinitive verb and a noun. Even though compound nouns produced by this process refer predominantly to human beings (17), there exist some compound nouns derived from an infinitive phrase in non-animate classes (18). In addition, a few compound nouns derived from an infinitive phrase are used to qualify a noun, that is, as adjectives (19) (additional examples may be found in Appendix D). (17) Compound nouns in the animate class derived from an infinitive phrase a. kusema kweli

“say the truth”

b. kugombea kiti

“run for office”

c. kutema kuni d. kuweka hazina e. kuendesha mashtaka f. kufanya biashara g. kufanya kazi

“cut wood” “keep treasure” “conduct charges”

“honest person (truth-speaker)” mgombeakiti “candidate (office contender)” mtemakuni “wood cutter” mwekahazina “treasurer” mwendeshamashtaka prosecutor”

“do business” “do work”

mfanyabiashara mfanyakazi

h. i. j. k.

“sell fish” “sell bread” “sew shoes” lit. “eat interest”

muuzasamaki muuzamikate mshonaviatu mlariba

kuuza samaki kuuza mikate kushona viatu kula riba

msemakweli

“business person” “worker; employee” “fish seller” “bread seller” “cobbler” “usurer; interest-taker”

Noun formation vs. class variation 181

m. kumcha Mungu n. kupita; njia o. kupiga mbizi

mchamungu mpitanjia mpigambizi

“corrupt; corruption-taker” “pious person” “passerby” “diver”

p. q. r. s.

mpigazumari mpigapicha kifunguamimba kifungamimba

“clarinetist” “photographer” “first-born child” “last-born child”

l. kula rushwa

lit. “eat corruption”

mlarushwa

“fear God” “pass; pathway” “dive (make plunges)” kupiga zumari “play clarinet” kupiga picha “take photographs” kufungua mimba “open pregnancy” kifunga mimba “close pregnancy”

(18) Nouns in non-animate classes derived from an infinitive phrase a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

kufungua kinywa kuamsha kinywa kupima joto kupima; maji kupaza sauti kunasa sauti kufyonza vumbi

“open the mouth” “warm up the mouth” “measure; heat” “measure; water” “increase sound” “catch sound” “suck up dust”

kifunguakinywa chamshakinywa pimajoto pimamaji kipazasauti kinasasauti kifyonzavumbi

“breakfast” “breakfast” “thermometer” “spirit level” “loudspeaker” “voice recorder” “vacuum cleaner”

(19) Compound nouns derived from an infinitive phrase used as adjectives

a. b. c. d.

Infinitive phrases

Derived compound nouns used as adjectives

kupenda raha “to like pleasure” kupenda watu “to like people” kuchapa kazi “work hard” (lit. “hit work”) kuenda (na) wazimu “walk (with) ghosts (in the head)”

kijana mpenda raha “a pleasure-loving youngster” mvulana mpenda watu lit. “a people-loving boy” wasichana wachapa kazi “hardworking girls” kiongozi mwendawazimu “a mentally ill leader” (dismissive)

22.4. Augmentative/diminutive processes By changing the original prefix of a given noun, it possible to add to that noun the connotation of “big” or “little”. Depending on the context of speech or the intonation, the “augmentative” and “diminutive” processes may imply secondary connotations of “little and lovely”, vs. “big and ugly” or “big and bothersome”. The augmentative process shifts nouns into class [ø-li/ma-ya], while the diminutive process transfers them into class [ki-ki/vi-vi]. Importantly, the prefix change implies a real class shift, as even nouns for animates formed in this manner prompt the class agreement based on their new prefix, that is, in a non-animate class. In addition, when a noun in augmentative/diminutive class is used as the object of a verb, without any particular adjective or pronoun, it may still be qualified with descriptive adjectives, such as “big” or “small”, based on its new class prefix (i.e. kubwa/makubwa; kidogo/vidogo). The examples in (20) illustrate the augmentative shift of nouns into class [ø-li/ma-ya]. Following the general rule seen in 9.4, monosyllabic stems use the prefix ji- (20c–d), while

182

Noun formation vs. class variation

stems beginning with a vowel use the prefix j- (20e–h). In addition, derivation prefixes j- and ji- are maintained in the plural form, contrary to inherited prefixes (20c–g). As shown in (20f–g), the second term of the compound words also undergoes an augmentative class shift, with mume becoming dume and mke becoming jike. The term dume alone means “big/strong man” or “male”, while jike means “big/strong woman” or “female”. Examples of use in sentences are given in (21). (20) Augmentative shift in class [ø-li/ma-ya] a. kitambaa/vi- “fabric(s)” b. kikombe/vi- “cup(s)” c. mtu/wa- “person/people” d. mti/mi- “tree(s)” e. nyoka/nyoka “snake(s)” f. mwanamume/wanaume “man/men” g. mwanamke/wanawake “woman/women”

“big/ugly fabric(s)” “big/ugly cup(s)” “big/ugly person/ people; giant(s)” → jiti/majiti “big/ugly tree(s)” → joka/majoka “big/ugly snake(s)” → janadume/majanadume “big/ugly man/men” → tambaa/ma→ kombe/ma→ jitu/majitu

→ janajike/majanajike

“big/ugly woman/ women”

(21) Use of augmentative shift in class [ø-li/ma-ya] a. b. c.

Walipita kwenye sehemu zenye majoka “They crossed areas with huge snakes” Timu yetu imenyakua kombe la dunia “Our team has snatched the World Cup” Jihadhari na janadume lile, ni hatari sana! “Beware of that ugly man, he is very dangerous”

Examples of diminutive shift into class [ki-ki/vi-vi] are given in (22). As shown in (22c–f ), monosyllabic stems keep or receive an additional prefix ji-, while stems beginning with a vowel keep or receive an additional prefix j- (22g–i). Illustrative examples are given in (23). As suggested by the example in (23a), the use of adjectives such as “big” and “small” is generally required after a noun in augmentative/diminutive form, in the absence of any other qualifier (23). (22) Diminutive shift into class [ki-ki/vi-vi] a. b. c. d. e.

gari/ma- “car(s)” karatasi “paper(s)” jiwe/mawe “stone(s)” mto/mi- “river(s)” mti/m- “tree(s)”

→ → → → →

kigari/vigari kikaratasi/vikaratasi kijiwe/vijiwe kijito/vijito kijiti/vijiti

f. g. h. i.

mtu/wa- “person/people” jicho/macho “eye(s)” nyumba “house(s)” nyoka “snake(s)”

→ → → →

kijitu/vijitu kijicho/vijicho kijumba/vijumba kijoka/vijoka

“little car(s)” “little paper(s)/sheet(s)” “little stone(s)” “little river(s)” “little tree(s); stick(s); twig(s)” “little person/people” “little eye(s)” “little house(s)” “little snake(s)”

Noun formation vs. class variation 183 (23) Use of diminutive shift into class [ki-ki/vi-vi] a. b.

Alinunua kigari kidogo, ingawa ni janadume kubwa “He bought a very little car, though he is a huge man” Alikusanya vikaratasi vyake akaondoka “He collected his little papers and left”

Nouns that are already in class [ø-li/ma-ya] generally do not use the augmentative process, similar to the nouns with a prefix ki-/vi- in class [ki-ki/vi-vi] regarding the diminutive process. However, some speakers tend to bypass this restriction, using an additional prefix li- or an infixed segment ji- in class [ø-li/ma-ya], or by infixing the segment ji- in class [ki-ki/vi-vi]. This process generally has an expressive or a dismissive connotation, depending on the use (e.g. “very big/huge vs. awful”; “very small; minuscule”), as shown in (24) and (25). (24) Expressive use of the augmentative process with nouns in class [ø-li/ma-ya] a. b. c.

duka/ma- “store(s)” gari/magari “car(s)” jicho/ma- “eye(s)”

→ liduka/majiduka → ligari/majigari → lijicho/majicho

“huge/awful store(s)” “huge/awful car(s)” “huge/awful eye(s)”

(25) Expressive use of the diminutive process with nouns in class [ki-ki/vi-vi] a. b.

kitabu/vi- “books(s)” kikombe/vi- “cup(s)”

→ kijitabu/vijitabu → kijikombe/vijikombe

“very small books(s)” “minuscule cup(s)”

On the other hand, nouns with a prefix ch-/vy- in class [ki-ki/vi-vi] freely use the diminutive process by adding a prefix ki-/vi- before the regular noun prefix. This allows the formation of expressive diminutives, by inserting the expressive segment ji-, as shown in (26). (26) Regular vs. expressive use of the diminutive with ji- prefix in class [ki-ki/vi-vi] a.

chumba/vy-

b.

chama/vy-

→ → → →

kichumba/vichumba kijichumba/vijichumba kichama/vichama kijichama/vijichama

“little room(s)” “minuscule room(s)” “little (political) party(ies)” “insignificant (political) party(ies)”

The use of the expressive diminutive marker ji- is occasionally found in classes other than [ki-ki/vi-vi], as shown in (27). In such cases, the expressive prefix ji- generally replaces the original prefix of the noun, as in (27a–b). However, the nouns of class [ø-li/ma-ya] with a ji- or j- prefix keep their original prefixes in both the singular and the plural, which are then preceded by the expressive prefix ji- and the diminutive prefix ki-/vi- (27c–d).

184

Noun formation vs. class variation

(27) Alternative use of infixed segment ji- for expressive purposes a. b. c. d.

mtoto/wa“child(ren)” duka/ma“store(s)” jambo/mambo “matter(s)” jiwe/mawe “stone(s)”

→ → → → → → → →

kitoto/vitoto kijitoto/vijitoto kiduka/viduka kijiduka/vijiduka kijambo/vijambo kijijambo/vijimambo kijiwe/vijiwe kijijiwe/vijimawe

“little “child(ren)” “minuscule child(ren)” “little store(s)” “minuscule store(s)” “little matter(s)” “insignificant matter(s)” “little stone(s)” “very little stone(s); kidney stone”

Finally, some nouns in the expressive diminutive/augmentative category have historically acquired particular meanings that are not directly related to the original base nouns. The most common cases are given in (28) (additional examples may be found in TUKI 2001). (28) Nouns in expressive diminutive/augmentative with particular meanings a. b.

mwiko/mi- “wooden spoon” jicho/macho “eye(s)”

→ kijiko/vijiko → kijicho/vijicho

c.

mbwa “dog”

→ kijibwa/vijibwa

d.

mwana/wa- “child(ren)”

e.

mji/mi- “city; town”

→ kijana/vijana [mu-yu,a/wa-wa] → kijiji/vijiji → jiji/majiji

“spoon” “little eye(s); malignant glance(s); envy” “minuscule dog/ political puppet” “young (person)” “village(s)” “megacity(ies)”

22.5. Application exercises (29) Give equivalent nouns that correspond to the translation provided, e.g. kusoma “study” → somo “lesson”. a. d. g. j.

kuimba _____ “singer” kucheza _____ “a play” kuimba _____ “song” kulinda _____ “guardian”

b. e. h. k.

kubwa _____ “size” kufungwa _____ “prisoner” kuzalisha _____ “production” kijiji _____ “villager”

c. f. i. l.

kupika _____ “a cook” kuandika _____ “writer” -refu _____ “length” kuchapisha _____ “publisher”

(30) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

He has a big nose but minuscule eyes. Hamisi has a huge house, but it has no electricity. His work has many flaws. (Base verb: kupunguka.) Who was the winner and who was the loser? My father and my mother are members of the lawyers’ association. Are you the first-born child in your family? Our soldiers have shown great bravery. Many citizens like this leader.

Noun formation vs. class variation 185

22.6. Cumulative exercises (31) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. b. e. f. g. h. i. j.

Is Mariam envious of her sister? (Lit. sees envy for.) Mariam has brought tea for one of the guests. My eyeglasses are broken. If she writes me a letter, I will be very happy. I parted from my fiancé. (See leave each other.) It is good to visit friends. Don’t sit on this mat, it is damaged. (Hint: kuharibu.) Mariam and I like each other like siblings. We will wait until he arrives. My sister sewed this shirt for me.

23 Reduced forms and special uses of various pronouns

23.1. Reduced contrastive pronouns with the contrastive/evocative verb ndi-/si- “be/not be” Following the pattern previously described with the reference pronouns in 10.10, the contrastive pronouns of the first and second persons (i.e. mimi/sisi “I/we”, wewe/ninyi “you/you all”) may be combined with the contrastive/evocative verb ndi-/si- “be/not be”. The combination with the contrastive/evocative verb ndi- gives the forms ndimi, ndiwe, ndisi, and ndinyi, which corresponds to “this is me/you/us/you all” or “I am/we/you are/the one(s) who”. The combination with its negative counterpart si- gives simi, siwe, sinyi, meaning “this is not me/you/you all”, or “I am/you are not the one(s) who”. As a note, sisi “us” does not combine with si-, as the result would be identical to the simple form sisi. (1) a. b. (2) a. b.

Ndisi (= sisi ndio) watalaam wa swala hili Sisi sio watalaam wa swali

“We are the specialists on this topic”

Ndinyi (= ninyi ndio) mtasifiri. Sinyi (= ninyi sio) mtasifiri

“You are the ones who will travel” “You are the ones who will travel”

“We are not the specialists on this topic”

Contrastive pronouns in the plural are also used in compound words with the quantity pronoun -ote “all”, as shown in (3). (3) a. b.

sisi + wote

→ sote:

nyinyi + wote

→ nyote:

Sote ni wanafunzi “All of us are students” Nyote mnatoka Kenya? “Are you all from Kenya?”

23.2. Combination of the kinship terms ending in -a with a possessive pronoun In some instances, different kinship terms ending in -a may be contracted with possessive pronouns in both singular and plural. Kinship terms that allow this process are baba “father”, mama “mother”, mwana/wana “child(ren) of (obsol.)”, and mwenza/wenza “companion; colleague”, as shown in Table 23.1(a–d). Other kinship terms ending in -a, that is, kaka “brother” and dada “sister” and nyanya “grandmother”, may be contracted only with singular possessive pronouns -angu “my”, -ako “your”, and -ake “his/her”, as shown in Table 23.1(e–g).

Pronoun reduction and other special uses

187

Table 23.1 Contraction between possessive pronouns and personal relationship nouns

a. mama “mother” b. baba “father” c. mwana/wana “child(ren) of ” d. mwenza/wenza “colleague” e. kaka “brother” f. dada “sister” g. nyanya “grandmother”

+ wangu “my”

+ wako “your”

+ wake “his/her”

+ wetu “our”

+ wenu “your (you all)”

+ wao “their”

mamangu babangu mwanangu/ wanagu mwenzagu/ wenzagu kakangu dadangu nyanyangu

mamako babako mwanako/ wanako mwenzako/ wenzako kakako dadako nyanyako

mamake babake mwanake/ — mwenzake/ wenzake kakake dadake nyanyake

mamaetu babaetu mwanetu/ wanetu mwenzetu/ wenzetu — — —

mamaenu babaenu mwanenu/ wanenu mwenzenu/ wenzenu — — —

mamao babao mwanao/ wanao mwenzao/ wenzao — — —

Typically, the contraction process deletes the prefix of the pronoun and the final vowel of the noun. However, in the case of baba and mama, which have a repeated syllable, the final vowel is maintained before a dissimilar vowel. This leads to a sequence of vowels, as shown in bold in Table 23.1(a–b). Interestingly, contracted forms based on mwana are very common (Table 23.1(c)), even though the base form is rare and mostly used in poetic/formal language. In addition, the contraction between wana “children” and -ake “his/her” does not exist, as wanake is used as a contraction for wanawake “women” (see instead (7) below).

23.3. The possessives -ako/-ake reduced to -o/-e in relationship terms and other expressions In addition to full possessive pronouns, the possessives -ako “your[s] (you, singular)” and -ake “his/her[s]” may be reduced to -o and -e respectively, when attached to personal relationship terms. The reduced possessive pronouns may be suffixed to the different kinship terms seen above, but also to close relationship terms such as: mume “husband”; mke “wife”; ndugu “sibling(s); relative(s)”; mpenzi “lover(s); fan(s)”; rafiki “friend”; and mwenzi “companion, lover (obsol.)”. Contrary to the regular possessive pronouns, the reduced possessives generally keep their class prefixes, as shown in (4a–b, 5b). You will observe that there are some differences between mwenzi mentioned here and the term mwenza seen previously in Table 23.1(d), as the latter may be used as an adjective (e.g. mwalimu mwenza “colleague teacher”, mke mwanza “co-wife”). (4) Reduced possessive pronouns suffixed to close relationship terms in class [n-i/n-zi] a. b.

ndugu ndugu ndugu ndugu

i-o/ zi-o i-e/ zi-e

→ → → →

nduguyo nduguzo nduguye nduguze

“your sibling” “your siblings” “his/her sibling” “his/her siblings”

Pronoun reduction and other special uses

188

(5) Reduced possessive pronouns suffixed to close relationship terms in subclass [mu-yu,a] a. b.

mwenzi + -o/ wenzi + -o mwenzi + (w-) -e/ wenzi + (wa-) -e

→ → → →

mwenzio wenzio mwenziwe or mwenzie wenziwe or wenzie

“your companion” “your companions” “his/her companion” “his/her companions”

As seen by contrasting (5a) and (5b), the agreement prefixes w- and wa- of the animate class [mu-yu,a/wa-wa] are neutralized before the rounded stem vowel -o. This neutralization is also visible in (6a, 8a, 9a). It is justified by a relative restriction on the co-occurrence between the vowels /u,o/ and the semi-vowel /w/, both of which are pronounced with rounded lips (you may refer to Figure 9.1 for the notion of rounded vowels). In addition, the agreement prefixes w- and wa- are optional between the reduced possessive -e and a non-identical vowel within the noun stem, as in (6b, 7), while they are obligatory between -e and an identical vowel, as in (8b, 9b). (6) a. b.

mpenzi + -o/ wapenzi + -o mpenzi + (w-) e/ wapenzi + (wa-) e

→ → → →

mpenzio wapenzio mpenziwe or mpenzie wapenziwe or wapenzie

“your fan” “your fans” “his/her fan” “his/her fans”

(7)

mwana + (w-) e/ → mwanawe or mwanae “his/her child” wana + (wa-) e → wanawe or wanae “his/her children” (See also mtoto(w)e/watoto(w)e “his/her child(ren)”; -o “your” is not used with mtoto/mwana.)

(8) a.

mke + -o/ wake + o mke + w- e/ wake + wa- e

→ → → →

mume + -o mume + w- e

→ mumeo → mumewe

b. (9) a. b.

mkeo wakeo mkewe wakewe

“your wife” “your wives” “his wife” “his wives” “your husband” “her husband”

Depending on the speaker, a liaison segment /y/ also may be inserted between a nonround vowel /i,e/ and another vowel more open or more closed in the word-final syllable (see sequences i-o, i-e, and a-e). This gives rise to alternations of the form io/iyo, ie/iye, ae/aye in word-final position (e.g. mwenzio/mwenziyo “your companion”; mwenzie/mwenziye “his companion”; mwanae/mwanaye “his child”). Similar to ndugu “sibling” seen in (4), the other invariable kinship terms use the agreement prefixes i-/zi- with the suffixed possessives -e and -o. This is the case for: babuyo/babuzo, babuye/babuze “your, her/his grandfathers(s)”; bibiyo/bibizo, bibiye/bibize “your, her/his grandmother(s)”; bintiyo/bintizo, bintiye/bintize “your, her/his daughter(s)”; mamayo, mamaye “your, her/his mother”, babayo, babaye “your, her/his father”; and shangaziyo/ shangazizo, shangaziye/shangazize “your, her/his aunt(s)”. In addition to personal relationship terms, the reduced possessive -e “his/her” is sporadically found in formal expressions such as proverbs. In the following examples (10–11), suffixed possessives and their English equivalents are in bold (additional examples may be found in Appendix D).

Pronoun reduction and other special uses

189

(10) Reduced possessive -e with non-animate “possessed” in proverbs a. b. c.

“He who hits a wall with his fist hurts his own arm” “He who asks for salt does so for his own pot” “The monkey does not see its ugly backside, it sees its companion’s”

Mpiga ngumi ukutani huumiza mkonowe (mu-kono u-e) Mwomba chumvi huombea chunguche (ki-ungu ki-e) Nyani haoni kundule, huliona la mwenziwe (ø-kundu li-e) (mwenzi wa-e) (mkundu + augmentative)

(11) Reduced possessive -e with non-animate “possessed” in various expressions a. b. c.

“We don’t see what he sees, his eyes see far ahead” “at the end, finally” (lit. “[at] its end”) “at the beginning/initially” (lit. “[at] its beginning”)

Hatuoni aonayo, machoye yaona mbali (ma-cho ya-e; Ghassani 2007) mwishowe/mwishoe (mu-isho u-e) mwanzowe/mwanzoe (mu-anzo u-e)

23.4. Idiomatic uses of the possessive pronouns The possessive pronouns in class [n-i/n-zi] are used with the verb kwenda “to go”, which produces expressions of the form “kwenda za + possessive” that entail the notion of “going away”. This pattern appears as an elliptical use “kuenda njia/sehemu za + possessive”, which literally means “to go his own ways/places”. Examples are given in (12). (12) Use of the expression “kwenda za + a. b. c. d. e. f.

Ninakwenda zangu Nenda zako! Amekwenda zake Twendeni zetu Nendeni zenu! Wamekwenda zao

possessive”

“I am going away” “Go away!” “He/she has gone away” “Let’s go away” “Go away (you all)!” “They have gone away”

This construction is also used with kuja/njoo “to come/come”, though rarely. As shown in (13), this produces the connotation of “right away” (see also kukaa za + possessive “to stay in a corner”). (13) a. b. c.

Alikimbia akaja zake nyumbani Walihama kijijini wakaja zao mjini Njoo zako tuongee

“He fled and came home right away” “They left the village and came to the city right away” “Come here right away so we can talk”

In addition, the invariable adverb pekee “alone/only” may be used with possessive pronouns, which gives expressions of the form “peke ya + possessive” (14). (14) a. b. c. d.

Je, nije pekee/peke yangu? Je, kazi hii umeifanya pekee/peke yako? Leo, wanawake watacheza pekee/peke yao Liz pekee/peke yake anajua lugha tatu

“Should I come alone?” “Have you done this work alone?” “Today, the women will play alone” “Only Liz knows three languages”

190

Pronoun reduction and other special uses

23.5. Application exercises (15) Fill in the blanks, using the contracted word pattern; convert elements of your sentences into plural or singular whenever possible (two answers per question). a. b. c. d. e.

Baba ______ (“their”) anafanya kazi gani? Mwan ______ (“my”) ni mkubwa sasa. Mwenz ______ (“you; you all”) amekwenda wapi? Mwenzi ______ (“his”) atafika kesho. Na ______ (“you” sg.) ni mmarekani?

(16) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e.

I will talk with him next week. She is the doctor; I am her assistant. This is not the bus to Morogoro; the bus to Morogoro is that one. Why is he sitting alone? Your guest has gone away.

23.6. Cumulative exercises (17) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. p. q. r. s.

Can you return this book to me next month? Do you have enough experience? (Base verb: be accustomed to.) He closed the door and went away. I am going to the market. Would you like to come (lit. to go) with me? My mother is the one who cooks for us. The pen that I have does not write well. Don’t forget to buy fish for us. Hamisi and his fiancée have written each other letters. He passed by here singing. I think he was drunk. His work was not good enough. If you happen to see him, tell him to give me a call. In this hospital, female doctors outnumber male doctors. (Lit. are more numerous.) Is this the video you are talking about? Pay attention, otherwise you will end up getting hurt. Please stop. My trip ends here. The elders are relaxing playing a board game. We saw a dhow leaving the port. When I arrived, he had already left. Why did you not come to class today?

24 Subjunctive vs. infinitive/indicative in coordinated and subordinate clauses

This section illustrates various uses of the subjunctive mood and the infinitive form in coordinated and subordinate clauses. It also addresses the alternation between the subjunctive mood, the infinitive form, and the indicative mood in complement clauses.

24.1. Infinitive vs. subjunctive in coordinated declarative clauses Coordinated clauses in indicative/conditional mood that refer to the same grammatical categories (person, tense, affirmative/negative) use the infinitive form for the verb in second position. The verb in second position is then introduced by the conjunction na “and” in the affirmative form, while its negative counterpart uses wala “nor”, as shown respectively in (1) and (2). (1) Use of the infinitive in declarative coordinated clauses in the affirmative form a. b. c. d. (2)

Aliimba na kupiga densi (na kunywa pombe) Tutatembea na kuenda sinema Huwa tunatembea na kuenda sinema Wangemfuata wala kumpata

“He sang and danced (and drank alcohol)” “We will walk and go to a movie” “We usually walk and go to a movie” “They would follow him and get him”

Use of the infinitive in declarative coordinated clauses in the negative form a. b. c. d.

Hakuimba wala kupiga densi (wala kunywa pombe) “He did not sing, nor dance (nor drink alcohol)” Hatutatembea wala kuenda sinema “We will not walk nor go to a movie” Huwa hatutembei wala kuenda sinema “We usually don’t walk nor go to a movie” Wasingemfuata na kumpata “They would not follow him nor get him”

The verb in coordinated/subordinate clauses

192

You will observe that, in the context of coordinated clauses, the affirmative form in the past tense may optionally use the “consecutive” marker -ka- instead of the conjunction na, as in (3c). (3) Indicative mood vs. consecutive marker -ka- in coordinated clauses (affirmative form) a. b. c.

Watamfuata na kumpata Walimfuata na kumpata Walimfuata wakampata

“They will follow him and get him” “They followed him and got him” “They followed him and got him”

In addition, the subjunctive is used as the default mood for coordinated clauses that are not introduced by a conjunction. This is particularly the case for coordinated negative verbs following a verb in the affirmative form, as shown in (4). (4) Subjunctive mood in a negative clause coordinated with an affirmative clause a. b. c. d.

Huwa wanamfuata wasimpate Walimfuata wasimpate Ataanguka asiumie Angeanguka asiumie

“They usually follow him but don’t get him” “They followed him but did not get him” “He will fall down but will not get hurt” “He would fall down without getting hurt”

The conjunction baadaye “afterwards/and then” is also used, along with the consecutive marker -ka-, to express an interval between two successive actions (5a). You will note that, contrary to baadaye “afterwards”, baada ya “after” cannot be followed by a conjugated verb, as the conjunction ya “of ” is generally followed by a noun, a pronoun, or an infinitive (6). (5) a. b. c.

Walipumzika, baadaye wakaondoka Waliondoka baadaye Baadaye waliondoka

“They rested and then left” “They left afterwards” “Afterwards, they left”

(6) a. b. c.

Waliondoka baada ya mjomba wangu Baada ya mimi kupumzika, waliondoka Waliondoka baada ya kupumzika

“They left after my uncle” “After I rested, they left” “They left after resting”

The conjunction kabla (ya) “after” may also be followed by a verb in the indicative mood, which must be in the negative form of the perfect tense (the English counterpart uses the affirmative form). In this case, the conjunction ya “of ” is omitted (7), while it is retained in the presence of a noun, a pronoun, or an infinitive (8).

b.

Kabla hujaondoka, ninataka tuzungumze

c.

Huwezi kuondoka kable hatujazungumza

“They left before they rested/ before resting” “Before you leave, I want us to converse” “You cannot leave before we talk”

Waliondoka kabla ya mjomba wangu Waliondoka kabla yake Waliondoka kabla ya kupumzika

“They left before my uncle” “They left before him/her” “They left before resting”

(7) a.

(8) a. b. c.

Waliondoka kabla hawajapumzika

The verb in coordinated/subordinate clauses 193

24.2. Subjunctive vs. infinitive in coordinated non-declarative clauses The subjunctive is generally used in coordinated clauses following a non-declarative clause, that is, a verb in imperative or subjunctive form, as shown in (9–11). In such cases, the conjunction na “and” is omitted, as the use of the subjunctive in the second verb suffices to show that the two clauses are coordinated. However, the negative verb in second position is introduced by the conjunction wala “and . . . not; nor” (10–11). If both of the coordinated verbs are in the negative form, the verb in second position may optionally appear in infinitive form, as shown in (11b, d). As seen before, the term “later” in the glosses refers to the notion of “delayed response”, in relation to the expression of command in the subjunctive mood (9b, 10b). (9)

Subjunctive mood in a coordinated clause, after an imperative/subjunctive verb a. b. c.

Shika kalamu uandike Ushike kalamu uandike Shikeni kalamu muandike

“Take a pen and write” “Take a pen and write (later)” “Take a pen and write (you all)”

(10) Subjunctive mood in a coordinated clause in negative form, after an imperative/ subjunctive verb a. b. c.

Andika wala usiniulize maswali “Write, and do not ask me questions” Uandike wala usiniulize maswali “Write, and do not ask me questions (later)” Fungeni mlango wala msitoke nje “Close the door, and do not go out (you all)”

(11) Subjunctive or infinitive in coordinated clauses, after a negative subjunctive verb a. b. c. d.

Msimuulize maswali wala msimsumbue “Do not ask him questions nor bother him (you all)” Msimuulize maswali wala kumsumbua “Do not ask him questions nor bother him (you all)” Usiombe wala usipokee pesa kutoka wageni “Neither request nor receive money from the guests” Usiombe wala kupokea pesa kutoka wageni “Neither request nor receive money from the guests”

24.3. The subjunctive as the default mood of subordinate clauses of “possibility” As discussed previously (11.3.3), the subjunctive mood is generally used in subordinate clauses to imply the notion of “possibility”, while verbs in the infinitive form or the indicative mood are used to express “factual statements”. The notion of “possibility” in subordinate clauses, and the ensuing use of the subjunctive mood, are generally triggered by main clauses expressing notions such as “request/wish”, “permission”, “wish”, “preference”, “indirect cause”, or “intent”. They are also associated with subordinate clauses that imply the idea of “purpose”, except for cases of simple purpose complements following a verb of movement (“go to do”; “come to do”).

194

The verb in coordinated/subordinate clauses

The examples in (12) illustrate the use of the subjunctive after a main clause expressing a “request” via the use of a verb in the imperative or the subjunctive mood. As seen in (12a–b), constructions involving a sequence of actions/states optionally use the “consecutive” prefix -ka- in the verb in second position (-ka- is only used in the affirmative form). The examples in (13) illustrate the use of the subjunctive after a main clause verb that inherently implies the notion of request. (12) Subjunctive in a clause implying “possibility”, after a main verb in imperative/ subjunctive a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

Ingia tuongee/tukaongee “Enter, so we may talk” Ufungue waondoke/wakaondoke “Open, so they may leave (later)” Mwambie awe na subira/awe mvumilivu “Tell him to be patient” Umwambie asiwe na mashaka; nitamlipa “Tell him not to worry (later); I will pay him” Usimuache mtu yeyote afungue mlango huu “Don’t let anyone open this door” Mwache(ni) avichukue “(You all) Let him take them (in class [vi-vi])” Umuache avichukue “Let him take them (later)”

(13) Subjunctive in a clause implying “possibility”, after a verb implying a request a. b. c. d. e.

Tuliomba tu(si)anze mara moja lit. “We requested that we could (not) start immediately” Tuliwaambia waanze mara moja “We told them to start immediately” Ninakuomba uwe na subira “I ask you to be patient” Nitamwomba aondoke/asiondoke “I will ask him to leave/not to leave” Aliwaamuru watoto waondoke/wasipige kelele “He ordered the kids to leave/not make a noise” lit. “that they should leave/not make a noise”

The examples in (14–15) also show the use of the subjunctive form to imply the notion of “possibility” after a main clause or an auxiliary verb expressing the notion of “permission”. (14) Subjunctive mood implying “possibility”, after a main clause expressing “permission” a. b. c.

Tutawaacha waingie Mkubwa wetu ametuacha tuondoke mapema Aliwaruhusu wajibu

“We will let them enter” “Our supervisor has let us leave early” “He allowed them to answer”

The verb in coordinated/subordinate clauses 195 (15) Subjunctive mood implying “possibility”, after an auxiliary verb of “permission” a. b. c.

Mwache alalamike/ Waacheni walalamike! Acha nimuulize Ngoja nimuulize

“(You all) Let him/them complain!” “Let me ask him” (lit. “Let so I ask him”.) “Let me ask him” (lit. “Wait so I ask him”)

Additionally, the examples in (16–17) use of the subjunctive mood to express the notion of “possibility” after a main clause implying the notion of “wish/preference” (shown by the use of the conditional -nge- in (16a–b) and (17)). A similar situation is shown in (18) with main clauses expressing the notion of “indirect cause”. (16) Subjunctive mood expressing “possibility” after a main clause expressing “wish/ preference” a. b. c. d. e.

Ningependa uimbe/usiimbe “I would like you to sing/not to sing” Ningependa amsaidie/asimsaide “I would like her to help/not to help him” Ninapendelea tuonane/tusionane leo “I prefer that we meet/we don’t meet today” Ninataka muondoke/msiondoke “I want you (all) to leave/lit. that you should not leave” Ninataka niondoke/nisiondoke “I want to (not) leave” (lit. “that I could (not) leave”)

(17) Subjunctive expressing “possibility” after a verb of “wish/preference” with an identical subject a. b.

Ningependa ni(si)imbe lit. “I would like that I could (not) sing” Ninapendelea ni(si)kutane na wewe leo lit. “I prefer that I could (not) meet with you today”

(18) Subjunctive mood expressing “possibility” after a main clause expressing “indirect cause” a. b. c.

Kukaa kijijini kulifanya nipende kuwinda “Living in the countryside made me like hunting” Sababu inayofanya apende kusafiri ni kuona watu tofauti “What makes him like to travel is seeing different people” Hii ndiyo sababu inayofanya tusipende kusafiri “This is the reason that makes us not like traveling”

As shown in (19–20), the subjunctive mood is generally used to express the notion of “possibility” in relation to the idea of “purpose” in subordinate clauses with an identical subject as the main clause. In this context, the subjunctive verb may be used with the consecutive marker -ka- (19). When the subject of the main clause is in the third person, the marker -ka- tends to be more systematically used, in alternation with the conjunction ili “so (that)” (20).

196

The verb in coordinated/subordinate clauses

(19) Subjunctive expressing “possibility” in a subordinate clause implying “purpose” a. b. c. d. e.

Utaenda mjini dadako a(ka)kusaidie “You will go into town so your sister can help you” Nitakaa chini ni(ka)pumzike “I will sit down so I can have some rest” Shika kalamu u(ka)andike “Take a pen so you can write” Nilimtumia nyaraka a(ka)zisome “I sent documents for him to read” (lit. “so he reads them”) Nitakutumia nyaraka u(ka)zisome “I will send you documents for you to read” (it. “so you read them”)

(20) Subjunctive expressing “possibility” in a subordinate implying “purpose” after a third person subject a. b. c. d.

Alipita nyumbani tukaende pamoja “He passed by (my) home so we could go together” Alipita nyumbani ili tuende pamoja “He passed by (my) home so that we could go together” Alienda mjini dada yake akamsaidie “He went into town so his sister could help him” Alienda mjini ili dada yake amsaidie “He went into town so that his sister could help him”

After a main clause involving the same subject, the subordinate clause may use the infinitive to express a “factual statement”, and the subjunctive to imply the notion of “possibility”. This is illustrated in (21–24) with constructions expressing the notion of “purpose”, with the series in a. constituting “factual statements”, and the series in b. implying the connotation of “possibility”. (21) a. b. (22) a. b. (23) a. b. (24) a. b. c.

Nilienda chumbani kupumzika kidogo “I went to the room to get some rest” Nilienda chumbani ni(ka)pumzike kidogo “I went to the room so I could get some rest” Nenda mjini kumwomba dada yako msaada “Go into town to ask your sister for help” Nenda mjini u(ka)mwombe dada yako msaada “Go into town so you can ask your sister for help” Nendeni sokoni kununua chakula “Go (you all) to the market to buy some food” Nendeni sokoni m(ka)nunue chakula “Go (you all) to the market so you can buy some food” Alikuja nyumbani (ili) kuchukua mzigo wake “He came home to pick up his package (lit. take)” Alikuja nyumbani akachukue mzigo wake “He came home so he could pick up his package (lit. take)” Alikuja nyumbani ili achukue mzigo wake “He came home so that he could pick up his package (lit. take)”

The verb in coordinated/subordinate clauses 197 The examples in (25) also show a similar use of the infinitive form after a main clause expressing the notion of “request”, “wish”, or “preference”. In these cases, the phrases with an infinitive verb constitute direct objects of the main verb, in contrast with their counterparts in the subjunctive mood that convey the connotation of “possibility”, as previously seen in (13a) and (17). With a main clause expressing a “request”, “wish”, or “preference”, complement clauses with an infinitive verb also lack the connotation of “politeness” that is generally conveyed by their counterparts with a subjunctive verb. (25) Infinitive form, after a verb of “request/wish” with the same subject a. b. c.

Tuliomba ku(to)anza mara moja Ningependa ku(to)imba Ninapendelea ku(to)kutana na wewe leo

“We requested to (not) start immediately” “I would like to sing/not to sing” “I prefer (not) to meet with you today”

Alternations between the infinitive form and the subjunctive mood may also be found in constructions with different subjects, especially in the presence of main verbs expressing the notion of “permission/prohibition”, “request”, or “assistance”, as shown in (26–31). The subordinate with the infinitive form appears as a factual complement to the main verb, while the subordinate with the subjunctive expresses the notion of “possibility”. In both cases, the main verb is used with an object pronoun that corresponds to the subject of the verb in second position. (26) a. b. (27) a. b. (28) a. b. (29) a. b. (30) a. b.

Niruhusu kukujibu “Allow me to answer you” Niruhusu ni(ka)kujibu lit. “Allow me so that I might answer you” Nitawaruhusu watoto kusoma “I will allow the children to read” Nitawaruhusu watoto wa(ka)some lit. “I will allow the children so that they might read” Angekuzuia kuenda kazini “He would prevent you from going to work” Angekuzuia usiende kazini lit. “He would prevent you so that you might not go to work” Walitukataza kuuliza swali lolote “They forbade us from asking any questions (lit. any question)” Walitukataza tusiulize swali lolote lit. “They forbade us so we might not ask any questions (lit. any question)” Aliwaomba wavulana wote kutorandaranda “He asked all the boys to not wander” Aliwaomba wavulana wote wasirandarande lit. “He asked all the boys that they might not wander”

198

The verb in coordinated/subordinate clauses

(31) a. b.

Nitakusaidia kununua nguo “I will help you buy some clothes” Nitakusaidia u(ka)nunue nguo lit. “I will help you so you buy some clothes”

Factual complement clauses with a specified subject use a verb in the indicative mood and are generally introduced by a subordinate conjunction. The most common conjunctions used in this context are kwamba/kuwa “that” and kama/iwapo “if ”, as shown in (32–34). You will observe that other languages may use the subjunctive mood in subordinate clauses after a main verb expressing “uncertainty”, such as “think”, “believe”, or “be certain” in the negative form like those in (32a–b) and (33a, 34a). In such languages, the use of the subjunctive mood is motivated by the notion of “uncertainty”, rather than the notion of “possibility” that we have seen with Swahili. (32) a. b. c. d. (33) a. b. (34) a. b.

Sidhani kwamba/kuwa atakuja “I don’t think that he will come” Hatuamini kwamba/kuwa wameondoka “We don’t believe that they have left” Anajua kwamba/kuwa unampenda? “Does he know that you love him?” Walieleza kwamba/kuwa wamechoka? “Did they explain that they are tired?” Sijui kama/iwapo anaweza kazi hii “I don’t know if he can handle this job” Nijulishe kama/iwapo utakuja “Tell me if you will come” Nina mashaka kwamba/iwapo jeshi limehusika “I doubt that/if the army was involved” Hatuna uhakika kama/iwapo wanafahamiana “We are not certain that/if they know each other”

The conjunctions kwamba/kuwa “that” seen in (32–34) are also used to introduce circumstantial clauses, such as those expressing the notion of “cause”, as in (35). They are also used to introduce a subordinate clause following a verb in impersonal form, as in (36). (35) a. b. (36) a. b.

Alisikitika kwamba/kuwa hakufaulu “He was saddened that he did not succeed” Nimefurahi kwamba/kuwa tumeonana “I am happy that we met” Inawezekana kwamba/kuwa ameondoka “It is possible that he has left” Ni muhimu kwamba/kuwa umemtembelea “It is important that you visited him”

The verb in coordinated/subordinate clauses 199 After a main verb expressing a “direct cause”, the subjunctive form serves to emphasize the notion of “consequence”, while the counterpart with an infinitive verb conveys a “factual statement”. Examples are given respectively with the a. series and the b. series in (37–38). (37) a. b. (38) a. b.

Mshahara mdogo ulinisabisha niache kazi lit. “The low wage caused that I should quit the job” Mshahara mdogo ulinisabisha kuacha kazi “The low wage caused me to quit the job” Kelele zilimsabisha paka akimbie lit. “The noise caused that the cat should run away” Kelele zilimsabisha paka kukimbia “The noise caused the cat to run away”

24.4. Subjunctive expressing “initial cause/ultimate consequence” or “imminent possibility” The subjunctive mood is also used in subordinate clauses expressing: the “initial cause” with tangu “from/since” (39); the “ultimate state/ultimate consequence” with mpaka “until” (40–41); and “imminent possibility” with karibu “nearly; all but; close to” (42) (more generally, karibu means “near, close to”). (39) a. b. c. (40) a. b. (41) a. b. (42) a. b. c. d.

Tangu afike alifundisha chuoni “Since he arrived, he has taught at college” Nimeumwa tangu waanze kunisumbua “Since they began bothering me, I have been ill” Amesema Kiswahili tangu azaliwe “He has spoken Swahili since he was born” Sitaondoka mpaka amalize “I will not leave until he finishes” Hatutakuja mpaka waondoke “We will not come until they leave” Nitamsumbua mpaka aondoke “I will annoy him until he leaves” Atawafundisha mpaka waelewe “He will teach them until they understand” Walimpiga karibu afe “They beat him until he nearly died” Niliteleza karibu nianguke “I slid and came close to falling” Gari lilikuwa karibu litugonge “A car all but hit us” Karibu litugonge! “It all but hit us!”

200

The verb in coordinated/subordinate clauses

These types of prepositions may also be followed by an infinitive verb used as a simple noun to convey a temporal meaning, as in (43). In addition, the preposition mpaka “until” used in the past tense is followed by a verb in the indicative mood with the consecutive marker -ka-, as shown in (44). (43) a. b. c. d. (44) a. b.

Atampenda mpaka kufa “She will love him until death” (lit. “until dying”) Amesema Kiswahili tangu kuzaliwa “He has spoken Swahili since birth” Amesema Kiswahili tangu kuzaliwa kwa mtoto wake “He has spoken Swahili since the birth of his child” Nyumba yake iko karibu kuanguka “His house is about to collapse” Nilimsumbua mpaka akaondoka “I annoyed him until he left” Aliwafundisha mpaka wakaelewa “He taught them until they understood”

24.5. Rhetorical use of the subjunctive mood As shown in (45), the subjunctive mood is used in subordinate clauses expressing alternative rhetorical conditions. It is also used in constructions introduced by the conjunction na “and” that express a form of “exclamatory command”, as in (46). (45) Subjunctive mood in alternative rhetorical conditions a. b.

Upende, usipende, utasoma Aje, asije, mkutano utaanza

“You may like it or not, you will read” “He may or may not come, the meeting will begin”

(46) Subjunctive mood expressing an exclamatory command after na “and” a. b.

Kama anataka kuenda, na aende! Na ukome!

“If he wants to go, let him go!” (lit. “fine, he may go!”) “And you shut up!”

24.6. Application exercise (47) Transform the sentences, putting the underlined verb in the negative and in the appropriate mood/form. Translate into English. a. b. c. d. e.

Tuliingia wakatupokea. Walitaka kujibu. Watamtafuta na kumwona. Naomba umsaidie. Karibu anione!

The verb in coordinated/subordinate clauses 201 (48) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k.

Read and explain to me. Go to the market (later) and buy some clothes. Close the door and open the window. He will fall down and get hurt. He read and understood. They allowed me to leave. He forbade him to visit his mother. Please don’t let him leave. I ask you to think about our plan. They would leave and get lost. Enter and have a seat. (Lit. enter and sit.)

24.7. Cumulative exercises (49) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. p. q.

Come and meet our neighbor. If they had listened, they would have not been lost. Open and eat. I would like you to read. Let’s wait for him here. When he arrived at my place (my home), he was already late. Hamisi has cooked fish for his children. He insulted him and their meeting ended there. After getting married, Liz moved to Lamu. This shirt needs to be altered. We were about to leave when he arrived. We will have to hurry in order to arrive early. I sent him documents and he read them. I am about to finish my studies. We have been allowed to take pictures. Why should he take my book? Let’s go in the garden and relax.

25 Double object constructions and the use of “object markers”

Contrary to what may be observed in other languages, Swahili does not use a preposition to introduce a secondary object to which the action of the verb bears indirectly. In an expression such as “give something to someone”, “something” is the direct object, while “someone” is called an “indirect object” or “beneficiary/affected”, while “to” is a preposition. On the other hand, objects relating to the circumstances of the action may use a conjunction, such as the instrumental kwa “with; by”. The present section addresses constructions in which the verb is followed by two objects, or an object to which the action of the verb relates indirectly, without the use of a conjunction or a preposition. In addition, it describes the use of the “object marker” in different types of clauses.

25.1. Prominent objects and the use of “object markers” As discussed in 10.2, the term “object marker” is used in this text to refer to an object pronoun that serves to highlight a given object of the verb, which is, therefore, contrasted with other possible objects or assumed as specific. In other words, the object marker is used to draw attention to certain objects of the verb that are considered prominent within a given sentence. In direct object constructions, the object marker is used to refer to a specified object, as in (1), while unspecified direct objects are used without an object marker, as in (2). In particular, the object marker is used when the object of the verb is known by both the speaker and the listener, is a proper noun, or is a noun used with a possessive/demonstrative pronoun. Importantly, some expressions that use the determinate article “the” in English may still constitute unspecified objects, which justifies the absence of an “object marker” in the example (2d) (from Seidl and Dimitriadis 1997). (1) Object markers referring to a specified object in direct object constructions a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

Nimemwona kijana yule uliyemzungumzia Je, umemsalimu mwalimu leo? Je, umekisoma kitabu hiki? Je, utawaleta watoto wako? Liz hamfahamu Selma Mariam aliifurahia zawadi yako Ninaupenda mji wa Mombasa Ninaipenda Zanzibar

“I have seen the youth you talked about” “Have you greeted the teacher today?” “Have you read this book?” “Will you bring your children?” “Liz does not know Selma” “Mariam was happy about/enjoyed your gift” “I like the city of Mombasa” “I like Zanzibar”

Double object clauses and “object markers”

203

(2) No object marker referring to an unspecified object in direct object constructions a. b. c. d.

Leo nimeona mdudu darasani Wasichana hupenda watoto Umesoma kitabu au gazeti? Mbuzi alikata kamba na kukimbia

“Today I have seen a bug in the classroom” “Girls like children” “Have you read a book or a newspaper?” “The goat broke the rope and ran free”

As discussed in 19.3, applicative verbs used in a double object construction generally include an “object marker” that highlights the “beneficiary/affected”. As shown in (3–4), the “object marker” is used when the double object construction involves either an applicative object or a direct object that is specific. In addition, the applicative object generally appears immediately after the verb, especially when it is not followed by a dependent pronoun, as in (3a–c). (3) Object markers in double object constructions involving a specific applicative object a. b. c. d. e.

Juma amewaletea watoto maji Baba atawapikia watoto wali Ninamwandikia Mariam barua Ninaifanyia matengenezo nyumba yangu Ninalifanyia kazi shirika hili

“Juma has brought water to the children” “Father will cook rice for the children” “I am writing a letter to Mariam” “I am making repairs on my house” “I am doing some work for this company”

(4) Object markers in applicative constructions involving a specific direct object a. b. c. d.

Wahuni wamemwibia mtu fulani saa yake “Hooligans have robbed someone of his watch” Ana tabia ya kuwakatalia watu haki zao “He has the habit of denying people their rights” Polisi wamemchukulia msafiri mzigo wake “The police have seized a piece of luggage from a traveler” Fundi anawarekebishia watu saa zao “The craftsman adjusts people’s watches”

Conversely, constructions involving unspecified direct and applicative objects do not use an “object marker”. As shown in the examples in (5) the idea of non-specificity is reinforced by the pronouns fulani “a given” and mbalimbali “various”, while the direct object tends to immediately follow the verb. (5) No “object marker” in applicative verbs with unspecified objects a.

Juma ameletea maji watoto fulani

b.

Mama atapikia wali wageni mbalimbali

c. d. e.

Ninaandikia watu barua Ninafanyia nyumba matengenezo Ninafanyia kazi shirika la binafsi

“Juma has brought water to some children” “Mother will cook rice for various guests” “I write letters for people” “I do repairs on houses” “I work for a private company”

Double object clauses and “object markers”

204

You will also observe that some applicative verbs may optionally be used with the “benefit/detriment” object alone, that is, without the direct object. The examples in (6) are based on the following noun or verb stems: zawadi “gift; award” → -zawadia “to offer (a gift)/award”; -iba “to steal” → -ibia “to steal from”. (6) Optional use of a direct object after an indirect object introduced by an applicative suffix a. b. c.

Watamzawadia mshindi (pesa nyingi) “They will award the winner (a lot of money)” Amemzawadia mchumba wake (gari) “He has made a gift (of a car) to his fiancée” Huwa wanawaibia majirani zao (mifugo) “They generally steal (livestock) from their neighbors”

25.2. Use of object markers in double object constructions involving “exchange/implement” As mentioned, Swahili generally does not use a preposition to introduce a secondary object on which the action of the verb bears indirectly. In particular, “exchange” verbs, such as -pa “give sth. to sb.”, -patia “hand sth. to sb.”; -nyima “deny sth. to sb.”; -kabidhi “hand over sth. to sb.”; -hadithia “recount sth. to sb.”; -tunukia “offer/confer sth. to sb.”; or -ambia “tell/report sth. to sb.”, are obligatorily used with a “beneficiary/affected” object immediately followed by the object of the exchange (7). (7) “Exchange” verbs with an object of exchange and a “beneficiary/affected” object a. b. c. d. e. f.

Baba alimpa kaka yangu shilingi elfu tano “Father gave five thousand shillings to my brother/ Father gave my brother five thousand shillings” Wameipa nchi yao kiongozi mzuri “They have given a good leader to their country” Mtumishi amewanyima watoto chakula “The worker has denied food to the children/ The worker has denied the children food” Mwalimu amewasimulia wanafunzi hadithi hii “The teacher has told this story to the students/ The teacher has told the students this story” Chuo kimemtunukia baba yangu shahada “The college has given a degree to my father/ The college has given my father a degree” Je, umemwambia mtu yeyote kisa hiki? “Did you report this incident to anyone?”

As seen in the examples in (7), “beneficiary/affected” objects appear just after the “exchange” verb in Swahili, something that is only optionally allowed in English for some verbs (see the glosses of the examples in (7a–e)). In such constructions, the verb also is used with an object marker that highlights the “beneficiary/affected” object. Though the “beneficiary/affected” object in these types of constructions is generally an animate for semantic reasons, non-animate objects may still appear in that function, as in (7b).

Double object clauses and “object markers”

205

Some verbs referring to the broad notion of “exchange” also use a “beneficiary/affected” object that is optionally followed by the object of exchange. This is the case for verbs such as -toza “fine”, -honga “bribe sb. with sth.; give a bribe”, and -saidia “help” shown in (8). In addition, verbs of “request” such as -uliza “ask (a question)”, -omba “request sth. from sb., ask sb. for sth.” may optionally omit the second object expressing the “target” of the action, as in (9). In both cases, the word order and the use of the “object marker” are similar to those previously seen in (7). (8) “Exchange” verbs with a “beneficiary/affected” object, and an optional object of exchange a. b. c. d.

Polisi walimtoza dereva (shilingi mia tatu) “The police fined the driver (300 shillings)” Amemhonga kiongozi (dola hamsini)” (+ Amehonga dola hamsini) “He bribed the chief (with fifty dollars)” (“He gave a fifty-dollar bribe”) Shirika letu liliwasaidia wananchi chakula “Our organization helped the citizens with food” Unaweza kunisadia (shilingi mia)? + Nikusaidie nini? “Can you help me (with a hundred shillings)?” “What may I help you with?”

(9) Verbs of “request” with the object of “request” and an optional target of the action a. b. c.

Salima amemuuliza mwalimu maswali mawili (Salima ameuliza maswali mawili) “Salima has asked two questions (to the teacher) or Salima has asked (the teacher) two questions” Nitamwomba mama yangu pesa (Nitaomba pesa) “I will request money ( from my mother) or I will ask (my mother) for money” Unaweza kumuazima kaka yako nguo? (Unaweza kuazima nguo?) “Can you borrow clothes ( from your brother?)”

Verbs meaning “impact”, such as -piga “hit; beat”, -choma “stab”, may function in a similar fashion, using an optional “implement” object after a direct object, as in (10). As shown in (11), this construction alternates with the use of the conjunction kwa “with/ using”, which emphasizes the fact that the second object of the verb is an implement (see “using + implement”). (10) Optional “implement” object without a conjunction, after an “impact” verb a. b. c.

Wanakijiji walimpiga/walimchapa mhuni viboko vitano “The villagers hit the thug with five lashes” Mteja amempiga mwenyeduka kofi/ngumi “A customer has slapped/punched the storeowner” (lit. “hit with the hand/fist”) Jambazi amempiga/amemchoma mwenyenyumba kisu “A robber has stabbed the homeowner”; lit. “A robber has hit the homeowner with a knife”

206

Double object clauses and “object markers”

(11) Optional use of the conjunction kwa “with, using + implement”, after an “impact” verb a. b.

Wanakiji walimpiga mhuni bakora/Wanakiji walimpiga mhuni kwa bakora “The villagers hit the thug with a cane”/ “The villagers hit the thug using a cane” Jirani amechoma nguruwe mkuki/Jirani amechoma nguruwe kwa mkuki “The neighbor has stabbed a pig with a spear”/ “The neighbor has stabbed a pig using a spear”

Other double object constructions are based on a verb with an open-ended meaning that is specified by an obligatory “implement” object. This is the case for verbs like -piga “hit; strike” and -paka “spread an oily/powdery substance on a surface” shown in (12), with illustrative examples in (13). (12) Examples of double object constructions with obligatory “implement” object a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

-paka (nyumba) rangi -paka (mtu) marashi -paka (mtu/kitu) mafuta -piga (mtu) sindano -piga (nguo) pasi -piga (mtu/kitu) picha -piga mtu/kitu risasi -piga mtu/kitu vita -piga mtu/kitu marufuku -piga mtu/kitu teke (concr./idiom.) k. -piga mtu/kitu kalamu (colloq.) l. -piga mtu/kitu chenga (concr./idiom.) m. -piga mtu kumbo (concr./idiom.) n. -piga moyo konde (idiom.)

“paint (a house)” “spray sb. with perfume” “rub sb./sth. with oil” “give (sb.) an injection” “iron (clothes)” “take a picture (of sb./sth.)” “shoot (sb./sth.)” (lit. “hit with a bullet”) “wage a war against sb./sth.” “ban” (lit. “hit with an interdiction”) “give (sb./sth.) a kick; dismiss sb./sth. with disrespect” “fire from work” (lit. “hit with a pen”) “dodge; evade sb./sth.” (lit. “dribble past sb./sth.”) “give sb. a push (to knock down)” “give oneself courage” (lit. “hit one’s heart with the fist”)

(13) Using double object constructions with obligatory “implement” object a. b. c.

Adui amempiga askari mmoja risasi “The enemy has shot one soldier (lit. “has hit one soldier with a bullet”) Maaskari wameipiga nyumba yake bomu “Soldiers have hit his house with a bomb” Ninahitaji kukipaka rangi chumba changu “I need to paint my room”

There also exist “exchange” constructions with two objects, in which the “beneficiary/ affected” may be used individually as a direct object. In these cases, the “beneficiary/ affected” appears as the direct object and generally comes just after the verb, while the second object appears as an optional “implement”, as shown in (14).

Double object clauses and “object markers”

207

(14) Constructions with a “beneficiary/affected” and a direct object used as an optional “implement” a. b. c. d. e.

Mwalimu atawafundisha watoto (sarufi) Wazazi wangu wamemlipa fundi (pesa) Hakimu amemsamehe kijana (makosa yake) Anamdai mwajiri wake (shilingi elfu) Mradi umewagharimu wanakijiji (pesa nyingi)

“The teacher will teach grammar to the children/ The teacher will teach the children grammar” “My parents paid the money to the craftsman/ My parents paid the craftsman the money” “The judge has forgiven the youth his mistakes” “He is claiming a thousand shillings from his employer” “The project has cost the villagers a lot of money/ The project has cost a lot of money to the villagers”

In contrast with the examples seen in (13–14), different constructions involving an unspecified “beneficiary/affected” object and an object referring to the implement or the circumstance of action are used without an object marker, as shown in (15). (15) No object marker for unspecified “beneficiary/affected” object in circumstantial constructions a. b. c.

Mhuni amepiga kijana fulani jiwe/fimbo “A hooligan has hit a young man with a stone/stick” Mimi hupaka nyumba rangi “I paint houses” Daktari ameponya wanakijiji malaria “The doctor has cured villagers of malaria”

With some verbs expressing the notion of “manipulation”, either the “beneficiary/affected” object or the “manipulated” object may be used alone, as the direct object of the verb. Such verbs also may use the two objects together, treating the “beneficiary/affected” as the direct object, while the “manipulated” object appears as the “implement” without a conjunction (16–17). As seen in (16a–b, 17c), these types of constructions are obligatorily used with an object marker referring to the “beneficiary/affected” when they imply the notion of possession. In other contexts, the use of the object marker depends on the distinction between specified and unspecified objects, as shown respectively in (17a) and (17b). (16) “Manipulative” verbs with a “beneficiary/affected” and an “implement” object a. b. c. d.

kushika shati “take/hold a shirt” kuvuta kanzu “pull a robe” kufunga kamba “tie a rope/attach a rope” kumwagilia maji/dawa “irrigate; sprinkle water/a product”

→ kumshika mtu (shati) → kumvuta mtu (kanzu) → kumfunga mbuzi/mtu (kamba) → kumwagilia mimea (maji/dawa)

lit. “seize sb. (by the shirt)” lit. “pull sb. (by the robe)” “attach/tie up a goat/ sb. (with a rope)” “irrigate/water plants; sprinkle plants (with water/chemical)”

208

Double object clauses and “object markers”

(17) “Manipulative” verbs and “object marker” referring to a specified “beneficiary/ affected” or a possessor a b. c.

Mkulima amemfunga mbuzi wake kamba “The farmer has tethered his goat with a rope” Si vizuri kufunga mbuzi kamba “It is not good to tether a goat with a rope” Si vizuri kumshika mtu shati “It is not good to seize sb. by the shirt”

In addition to constructions involving the notion of “beneficiary/affected”, other exchange verbs are obligatorily followed by the object of exchange and, optionally, by a “circumstantial” object referring to the condition of exchange. This is the case for -nunua “buy”, -uza “sell”, -lipa “pay” shown in (18). In such constructions, the “circumstantial” object is used without a conjunction, though the conjunction kwa “for” may optionally be used to emphasize the condition of exchange. (18) a. b. c.

Nimelinunua shati hili (kwa) shilingi mia tano “I have bought this shirt for five hundred shillings” Anaiuza nyumba yake (kwa) laki sita “He is selling his house for six hundred thousand” Alilipa nyumba milioni tatu “He paid three million for a house”

As shown in (19), the conjunction kwa may also be used, with the meaning of “to/for”, to introduce a “beneficiary/affected” object after verbs implying the notion of “giving” that are otherwise used without this category of objects. (19) a. b.

-toa “give; provide”: → Kituo hiki kinatoa umeme kwa wanakijiji “This station provides electricity to/for the villagers” -gawa “divide up; distribute”: → Alizigawa mali zake zote kwa masikini “He distributed all of his belongings to the poor”

25.3. Double object constructions based on the possessor/possessed reversal Some double object constructions are made possible by treating a given possessor as the object of an action that actually bears on the possessed. This is particularly the case with entities in a whole/part relationship, which may be explained by the fact that an action affecting a part has a certain effect on the whole. In constructions involving a body part and its “possessor”, specified “possessors” prompt the use of an object marker, contrary to unspecified “possessors”. Illustrative examples are shown, respectively, in (20) and (21).

Double object clauses and “object markers”

209

(20) Double object constructions with a specified possessor treated as the direct object (body part) a. b. c. d. e.

-vuta nywele → Askari wamemvuta nywele “pull the hair” mwandamanaji mmoja -shika shingo/sikio → Mhuni alimshika “grasp the neck/ear” jirani shingo -osha mikono → Baba anawaosha “wash hands” watoto mikono -kata nywele → Mama atawakata “cut hair” watoto nywele -chukua damu → Mwuguzi anamchukua “draw blood” mgonjwa damu

“The officers pulled one demonstrator’s hair” “A gangster grasped the neighbor’s neck” “The father is washing the children’s hands” “Mother will cut the children’s hair” “The nurse is drawing the patient’s blood”

(21) Double object constructions with unspecified possessor treated as the direct object (body part) a. b.

Mama hukata watoto nywele “Mother cuts children’s hair (for a living)” Wauguzi huchukua wagonjwa damu “Nurses draw patients’ blood”

Double object constructions are also possible with possessions that are not part of the body, when the “possessor” is directly affected by the action of the verb. This is particularly the case with some verbs implying the notion of “take sth. away”. In this context, the affected possessor is also treated as the direct object of the verb, as shown in (22). The two types of double object constructions based on possession relation are also found in idiomatic expressions, as in (23). In (23c), the expression -kata jina refers to the act of addressing a superior by name, while omitting his/her title, such as: Bwana “Mister”, Bibi “Mrs.”, Mzee “Elder”, Mwalimu “Professor”, Shangazi “Aunt” etc. (22) Double object constructions with a possessor treated as the direct object (other than body parts) a. b. c.

-vua nguo “remove clothes; undress” -toa viatu “remove shoes” -ondoa mashaka “remove doubts”

→ Mama anawavua watoto nguo

“The mother is undressing the children”

→ Muuguzi amemtoa mgonjwa viatu → Kiongozi atawaondoa wananchi mashaka

“The nurse has removed the patient’s shoes” “The leader will remove the citizens’ doubts”

210

Double object clauses and “object markers”

(23) Double object constructions with a possessor treated as the direct object (idiomatic expressions) a. b.

c.

-vunja moyo “break sb.’s heart/ dishearten” -kata usemi/kauli “interrupt (sb.)”; lit. “cut (sb.’s) expression/statement” -kata jina lit. “cut (sb.’s) name”

→ Salima amemkata mwalimu usemi/kauli

“This situation will break the parents’ hearts/ dishearten the parents” “Salima has interrupted the teacher”

→ Mvulana amemkata mzee jina

“The boy has shortened the elder’s name.”

→ Hali hii itawavunja wazazi moyo

Most cases of double object constructions involving a body part correspond to state verb constructions. In such cases, the possessor appears as the subject of a verb of state, shown by the -ik- or -uk-, while the possessed appears as the circumstantial object, as in the b. series in (24–27). (24) a. b. (25) a. b. (26) a. b. (27) a. b.

Dawa zimembadili mwanamke sura “Medications have changed the woman’s face” Mwanamke amebadilika sura “The woman has had her face changed” Pombe zimemharibu sura/akili mzee yule “Alcohol has damaged that elder’s face/intellect” Mzee yule ameharibika sura/akili “That elder has had face/intellect damage” Ajali ilimvunja msafiri mguu “The accident broke the traveler’s leg” Msafiri alivunjika mguu (see also -vunjika moyo) “The traveler had his leg broken” (“be heartbroken/disheartened”) Hali hii imewafungua watu macho “This situation has opened people’s eyes” Watu wamefunguka macho “People are open-eyed”

Verbs of state referring to a body part or the component of a given entity also allow the “possessor” to become the subject of the clause instead of the body part or the component itself, as shown with the b. series in (28–29). (28) a. b.

Macho ya dada yangu yameharibika Dada yangu ameharibika macho

“My sister’s eyes are spoiled” lit. “My sister has her eyes spoiled”

(29) a. b.

Vioo vya gari vimevunjika Gari limevunjika vioo

“The car’s windows are broken” lit. “The car has its windows broken”

Double object clauses and “object markers”

211

In some idiomatic expressions implying the notion of “take sth. away/lose”, the possessed may also appear as the subject of a state verb, while the possessed appears as the direct object. In (30–32), the a. series shows double object constructions, while the b. and c. series illustrate the use of the possessor and the possessed as the subject. -toa mtu jasho/damu/machozi “make sb. sweat/ bleed/shed tears” (make sweat: fig. give a hard time) -toka jasho/damu/ machozi, . . . “sweat/bleed/shed tears” jasho/damu/machozi . . . kumtoka mtu

→ Kazi inamtoa jirani jasho/ damu/machozi

“The work is making the neighbor sweat/ bleed/shed tears”

→ Jirani anatoka jasho

“The neighbor is sweating”

→ Jirani jasho linamtoka

“The neighbor is sweating” (idiom.)

b.

kumtoa mtu roho “take sb.’s life” (lit. “soul”) -toka roho

c.

roho kumtoka mtu

→ Askari amewatoa roho maadui wengi → Alianguka akatoka roho → Roho imemtoka leo

“The soldier took many enemies’ lives” “He fell and lost his life” lit. “Life (soul) has left him today”

→ Daktari anamng’oa mtoto jino → Mtoto ameng’oka jino → Jino limemng’oka

“The doctor is removing the child’s tooth” “The child has lost one tooth” “One of his teeth has been lost”

(30) a.

b. c. (31) a.

(32) a. b.

-ng’oa mtu jino “to remove sb.’s tooth” -ng’oka jino

c.

jino kumng’oka mtu

Other cases of possessor/possessed reversal that allow the possessor to appear as the subject of a verb of state instead of the possessed are given in (33–35). (33) a.

b.

-vimba “swell” → -vimba → Mgonjwa amevimba kichwa/miguu/ulimi . . . ulimi “get/have swollen head/ legs/tongue” -fa “die” → -fa macho → Mjomba amekufa “lose one’s eyes, lose macho one’s eyesight” (+ -fa moyo “be heartbroken/disheartened”)

“The patient has a swollen tongue” “Uncle has lost his eyesight”

(34) a. b.

Bei ya mafuta imepanda Mafuta yamepanda bei

“The price of oil has increased” “Gas has increased (in) price”

(35) a. b.

Kasi ya gari imepungua Gari limepungua kasi

“The speed of the car has decreased” “The car has decreased its speed” (lit. “has decreased in speed”)

212

Double object clauses and “object markers”

In addition to the possessed/possessor reversal, double object constructions may also result from clauses involving a circumstantial object used with a verb in the causative form. As shown in the following examples, this pattern applies to objects in possessor/possessed relationships (36–37), but also in content/container relationships (38). (36) a.

b.

(37) a. b. (38) a. b.

-umia kichwa/ moyo/tumbo “have head/stomach/ heart pain” -umiza kichwa/ tumbo/moyo “give head/stomach/ heart pain”

→ Mtoto ameumia kichwa

“The child has had a headache”

→ Jua limemuumiza mtoto kichwa

“The sun has given the child a headache”

-pungua bei “have a price decrease” -punguza (kitu) bei “decrease the price”

→ Mafuta yamepungua bei → Muuzaji amepunguza mafuta bei

“Oil has had a price decrease” “The seller has lowered the oil price”

-jaa “be full; be full of ” -jaza “fill with”

→ Gari limejaa watu → Utingo anajaza gari watu

“The car is full of people” “The conductor is filling the car with people”

25.4. Passive form with double object constructions As shown in (39b, 40a) and (42–43), “beneficiary/affected” objects in double object constructions generally can become the subject of a passive construction. The direct object may also be the subject of a passive verb in applicative constructions, as in (39c–d, 40b–c). However, the latter types of sentences may sound unnatural in the presence of the agent of the passive verb, as in (39d, 40c). (39) a. b. c. d. (40) a. b. c.

Juma anasomea wavulana hadithi “Juma is reading a story to the boys” Wavulana wanasomewa hadithi na Juma “The boys are being read a story by Juma” Hadithi inasomewa wavulana “The story is being read to the boys” Hadithi inasomewa wavulana na Juma “The story is being read to the boys by Juma” Wageni waliletewa chakula na mama “The guests were brought food by mother” Chakula kililetewa wageni “The food was brought for/to the guests” Chakula kililetewa wageni na mama “The food was brought for/to the guests by mother”

Double object clauses and “object markers” (41) a. b. c.

213

Hamisi aliandikiwa barua na mchumba wake lit. “Hamisi was written a letter by his fiancée” Barua iliandikiwa Hamisi “The letter was written to Hamisi” Barua iliandikiwa Hamisi na mchumba wake “The letter was written to Hamisi by his fiancée”

(42) Ombaomba alipewa pesa na Liz “A beggar was given money by Liz” (43) Mwizi alipigwa viboko vinane na polisi “The thief was hit with eight lashes by the police” Other types of constructions do not allow the use of the direct object as the subject of the passive verb in the presence of a “beneficiary/affected” object. This is the case with double object constructions based on body part nouns, as shown in (44) with nywele “hair” and uso “face”. (44) a.

b.

c.

Kinyozi hukata watoto nywele → “The barber cuts children’s hair” → Watoto hukatwa nywele na kinyozi “The children have their hair cut by the barber” lit. “The children are cut (of their) hair by the barber” Askari amemnyoa mahabusu ndevu → “An officer has shaved the prisoner’s beard off” → Mahabusu amenyolewa ndevu na askari “The prisoner has had his beard shaved off by an officer” lit. “The prisoner has been shaved (of his) beard by a guard” Baba anamwosha mototo wake uso → “The father is washing his child’s face” → Mototo anaoshwa uso na baba yake “A child is having his face washed by his father”

25.5. Application exercises (45) Give the passive form of the following sentences, using the “affected/beneficiary” as the new subject of the sentence. Translate into English, using the passive form when possible. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i.

Adui amempiga askari mmoja risasi. Daktari anamng’oa mtoto jino. Hakimu amemsamehe kijana makosa yake. Hali hii itawavunja wazazi moyo. Juma amewaletea watoto maji. Kiongozi atawaondoa wananchi mashaka. Majambazi wamevunja vioo gari la wagonjwa. Mama anawavua watoto nguo. Mama atawapikia watoto wali.

214

Double object clauses and “object markers” j. k. l. m. n. o.

Mama huyo amewanyima watoto wake chakula. Nitamwandikia Mariam barua. Polisi walimtoza dereva shilingi mia tatu. Salima amemuuliza mwalimu maswali mawili. Shirika letu liliwasaidia wananchi chakula. Wahuni wamemwibia mtu fulani saa yake.

(46) Translate into Swahili. We gave our neighbors water. The policemen have hit the thug using a lash. Please help me with two dollars. I pay two thousand shillings a month for my phone bill (lit. “I pay my phone two thousand shillings per month”). e. Bad food has hurt my uncle’s stomach. f. The bottle is full of water. g. The doctor has healed my mother’s eyes. h. Mariam is braiding her sister’s hair. i. Do you like your school? j. Villagers have been cured of malaria by the doctor. k. We will ask passersby for water. l. The thief has been hit with eight lashes by the police. m. I will give food to her children. n. The teacher has denied permission to his students. o. The leader has promised progress to the people. a. b. c. d.

25.6. Cumulative exercises (47) Translate into Swahili. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n.

I will ask my companion for help. Enter and close the door. He allowed me to ask one question. I want to fill the ball with air. I think he will be happy about your gift. She was being paid a hundred and fifty dollars a week. When I am back, I want you to have finished cleaning the room. We have been asked many questions. It is a taboo to deny water to someone. Did you ask anyone for money? (Lit. any person.) I will ask everyone to stand up. (Lit. all the people.) We must tell the teacher. Who told this incident to my mother? How do you like our new teacher? (Lit. how do you see.)

Appendix A: Greetings and other polite expressions

A.1 Greetings and expressions of welcome (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Jambo!

“Hi!”

Jambo!

“Hi!”

Hujambo!

“How are you?”

Sijambo!

“I am fine!”

Hamjambo!

“How are you all?”

Hatujambo!

“We are fine!”

Hujambo, Bibi/Bwana?

“How are you, Madam/Sir?”

Sijambo!

“I am fine!”

Shikamoo! ( pl. Shikamooni!)

“Hello, Sir/Madam!”

Marahaba!

“Hello!”

Salama?

lit. “Peaceful?”

Salama!

lit. “Peaceful!”

Mambo vipi?

“What’s up?”

Poa!/Safi!

lit. “Cool!”/lit. “neat”

Vipi?

“What’s up?”

Poa!/Safi!

lit. “Cool!”/lit. “neat”

Mambo?

“What’s up?”

Poa!/Safi!

lit. “Cool!”/lit. “neat”

Salaam aleikum

“Hello” (Arabic) (lit. “peace be with you”)

Aleikum salaam

“Hello” (Arabic) (lit. “peace be with you too”)

216 (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25)

Appendix A Sabah al kheri!

“Good morning!” (Arabic)

Sabah an nur!

“Good morning!”

Masalkheri!

“Good evening!” (Arabic)

Masalkheri!

“Good evening!”

Alamsiki!

“Good night!” (Arabic)

Alamsiki!

“Good night!”

Hodi?

“May I (we) come in?”

Karibu(ni)!

“Welcome! (you all)”

Nafurahi kukuona/kuwaona

“Good to see you/you all”

Asante! Nami/Nasi pia!

“Thanks! You too!”

Nashukuru kukufahamu/kuwafahamu

“Nice to meet you/you all”

Asante! Nami/Nasi pia!

“Thanks! You too!”

Karibu(ni) kiti!

“Please have a seat (you all)!”

Asante(ni)!

“Thanks!”

Karibu(ni) chai (na mkate)!

“Welcome (all) to tea (and bread)”

Asante(ni)!

“Thanks!”

Kwaheri(ni)!

“Goodbye (you all)!”

Kwaheri(ni)!

“Goodbye (you all)!”

Asubuhi njema!

“Have a good morning!”

Asante! Na wewe!

“Thanks! You too!”

Usiku mwema!/Ulale salama!

“Good night/Sleep well!”

Asante! Na wewe!

“Thanks! You too!”

Jioni njema!

“Have a good evening!”

Asante! Na wewe!

“Thanks! You too!”

Mchana mwema!

“Have a good afternoon!”

Asante! Na wewe!

“Thanks! You too!”

Safari njema!

“Have a good journey!”

Asante!

“Thanks!”

Tutaonana (kesho)!

“See you (tomorrow)!”

Haya! Tutaonana!

“Alright. See you”

Appendix A 217

A.2 Asking about news General form: Habari za (ya) . . . ? lit. “What is the news of . . . ?” Reply: Nzuri! “Good!”/Njema! “Fine!”/Salama! “Peaceful!” (Na wewe? “And you?”) (26)

Habari?/Habari gani?

“What’s the news?”

(27)

Habari yako/zako?

“How are you?” (lit. “What is your news?”)

(28)

Habari zenu?

“How are you? (you all)”

(29)

Habari za leo?

“How are you today?”

(30)

Habari za asubuhi?

“How are you this morning?”

(31)

Habari za mchana?

“How are you this afternoon?”

(32)

Habari za jioni?

“How are you this evening?”

(33)

Habari za nyumbani?

“How are things at home?”

(34)

Habari za kazi?

“How is work?”

(35)

Habari za watoto?

“How are the children?”

(36)

Habari za safari?

“How is/was your trip?”

A.3 Asking about health/family (37) (38) (39)

Nyumbani hawajambo?

“How is the family?”

Hawajambo

“They are fine”

(U) hali gani?

“How is your health?”

Mzima. (Na wewe?)

“I am well. (And you?)”

(U) mzima?

“Is your health okay?”

Mzima. (Na wewe?)

“I am well. (And you?)”

A.4 Expressing thanks and/or other polite expressions (40)

Asante(ni)!

“Thank you (you all)!”

(41)

Asante(ni) kwa chai na mazungumzo

“Thank you for tea and conversation (you all)”

(42)

Asante(ni) kwa kila kitu

“Thank you for everything (you all)”

(43)

Asante(ni) sana!

“Thank you so much (you all)!”

(44)

Hamna shida!

“No problem!”

218

Appendix A

(45)

Hapana!/Hamna!/Hakuna!

“No!”

(46)

Hata kidogo!

“Not at all!/Not even!”

(47)

Haya!/Sawa!

“Okay!/Alright!”

(48)

La! (La, hasha!)

“Not at all!”

(49)

Labda!

“Maybe!”

(50)

Inshallah (Arabic)

“God willing!”

(51)

Naam?/Naam!

“Yes?” (In answer to a call)/“Exactly!”

(52)

Abee?

“Yes?” (In answer to a call, for women)

(53)

Ala! Kumbe!

“Wow! Really!”

(54)

Ndiyo!

“Yes!”

(55)

Siyo!/Si(yo) kweli!

“That’s not true!”

(56)

Nimefurahi!

“I enjoyed myself!”

(57)

Nimestarehe!

“I had a good time!”

(58)

Pole!

“Sorry!” (sympathy)

(59)

Pole kwa msiba!

“My sincere condolences”

(60)

Pole kwa safari!

“Sorry for the journey!”

(61)

Asante, nimeshapoa! (reply to “Pole!”)

“Thanks, I think I will be fine.”

(62)

Samahani!

“Sorry!” (apology)

(63)

Bila samahani!

“That’s okay!” (no need to apologize)

(64)

Tafadhali!

“Please!”

(65)

Basi!/Yatosha!

“Enough!”

pakubwa

mkubwa

m zuri

mizuri

zuri

ma zuri

kizuri

vizuri

nzuri

nzuri

ku zuri

pazuri

m zuri

mfuko ubao

mifuko

gari

magari

kitabu (chakula)

vitabu (vyakula)

nguo

nguo

kusoma nyumbani

kitini

chumbani

[mu-u]

[mi-i]

[ø-li]

[ma-ya]

[ki-ki]

[vi-vi]

[n-i]

[n-zi]

[ku]

[pa]

[mu]

-dogo, -baya, . . .

kubwa

kubwa

vikubwa

kikubwa

makubwa

kubwa

mikubwa

mkubwa

wakubwa

hu mu

ha  pa

hu  ku

hi  zi

hi  i

hi vi

hi  ki

ha  ya

hi  li

hi  i

hu u

ha   wa

hu  yu

Pron. C (Dem.1)

humo

hapo

huko

hizo

hiyo

hivyo

hicho

hayo

hilo

hiyo

huo

hao

huyo

Pron. C (Dem.2)

-ingi, -eusi, -eupe, . . .

mwingine

pengine

kwingine

nyingine

nyingine

vingine (vyepesi)

kingine (chepesi)

-kali, -pana, . . .

mpya

papya

kupya

mpya

mpya

vipya

kipya

mengine

jingine

jipya mapya

mingine

mwingine

wengine

mwingine

Adjective Vowel

mipya

mpya

wapya

mpya

Adjective Conson.3

-pi?

mle

pale

kule

zile

ile

vile

kile

yale

lile

ile

ule

wale

yule

Pronominal prefix

mote

pote

kote

zote

yote

vyote

chote

yote

lote

yote

wote

wote

wote

ambamo

ambapo

ambako

ambazo

ambayo

ambavyo

ambacho

ambayo

ambalo

ambayo

ambao

ambao

amba  ye

Relative

ninamwona

ninapaona

ninakuona

ninaziona

ninaiona

ninaviona

ninakiona

ninayoona

ninaliona

ninaiona

ninauona

ninawaona

nina mw ona

Object Pr. (V Stem)

ninamjua

ninapajua

ninakujua

ninazijua

ninaijua

ninavijua

ninakijua

ninayajua

ninalijua

ninaijua

ninaujua

ninawajua

ninamjua

Object Pr. (C Stem)

ndi- “be + emph.”; na- “have/and” + contr. pron.

mnapendeza

panapendeza

kunapendeza

zinapendeza

inapendeza

vinapendeza

kinapendeza

yanapendeza

linapendeza

inapendeza

unapendeza

wanapendeza

anapendeza

Pron.V Subject Pron. ( -o)

-o-ote “any”

mwangu

pangu

kwangu

zangu

yangu

vyangu

changu

yangu

langu

yangu

wangu

wangu

wangu

Pron. V (-a)

-a “of”

Pron. C (Dem.3)

Reminder: Dual agreement with kinship terms: Rafiki yangu mkubwa na rafiki wa Mariam/(Ma)rafiki zetu wakubwa na (ma)rafiki wa Mariam

Similar modifierS

kukubwa

wa zuri

watoto

mkubwa

m zuri

mtoto

[mu-yu,a]

[wa-wa]

Adjective Conson.2

Nominal prefix

Adjective Conson.1

Noun

Sub-Class

Class

Appendix B: Class agreements with all types of adjectives and pronouns

Appendix C: Clause connectors and other transition words

C.1 Indirect clause (quotation) (1)

kwamba (ya kwamba) that

- Hamisi aliniambia kwamba anapenda kusoma. Hamisi told me that he likes to read.

(2)

kuwa (ya kuwa) that

- Hamisi aliniambia kuwa anapenda kusoma. Hamisi told me that he likes to read.

(3)

eti supposedly; verb “claim”

- Hamisi aliniambia eti anapenda kusoma. Hamisi told me that he likes – supposedly – to read. - Fatuma aliniambia eti nisome kitabu chake ili nifaulu mtihani. Fatuma claimed me that I should read her book in order to pass the exam.

(4)

Kwa mujibu wa According to . . .

- Kwa mujibu wa Fatuma, Hamisi anapenda sana kusoma. According to Fatuma, Hamisi likes to read very much.

C.2 Cause/consequence (5)

Kwa hiyo, Therefore,

- Hamisi anapenda kusoma. Kwa hiyo, atafaulu mtihani. Hamisi likes to read. Therefore, he will pass the exam.

(6)

Kwa sababu hiyo, For this reason,

- Hamisi anapenda kusoma. Kwa sababu hiyo, atafaulu mtihani. Hamisi likes to read. For this reason, he will pass the exam.

(7)

Kutokana na hayo, As a result,

- Hamisi anapenda kusoma. Kutokana na hayo, atafaulu mtihani. Hamisi likes to read. As a result, he will pass the exam.

(8)

Hivyo, Accordingly,

- Hamisi anapenda kusoma. Hivyo, atafaulu mtihani. Hamisi likes to read. Accordingly, he will pass the exam.

(9)

Basi, Therefore,

- Hamisi anapenda kusoma. Basi, atafaulu mtihani. Hamisi likes to read. Therefore, he will pass the exam.

Appendix C

221

(10)

Ndiyo maana/sababu This is the reason,

- Hamisi anapenda kusoma. Ndiyo maana/sababu atafaulu mtihani. Hamisi likes to read. This is the reason he will pass the exam.

(11)

Kutokana na kuwa Since . . .

- Kutokana na kuwa Hamisi anapenda kusoma, atafaulu mtihani. Since Hamisi likes to read, he will pass the exam.

(12)

Kwa kuwa ~ Kwa vile Because . . .

- Kwa kuwa Hamisi anapenda kusoma, atafaulu mtihani. Because Hamisi likes to read, he will pass the exam.

(13)

Kwani/Kwa sababu because

- Hamisi atafaulu mtihani kwani/kwa sababu anapenda kusoma. Hamisi will pass the exam because he likes to read.

C.3 Purpose (14)

ili . . . + Subjunctive so that . . .

- Hamisi anasoma sana ili walimu wampende. Hamisi studies a lot so that the teachers may like him.

(15)

kwa ajili ya . . . + inf. in order to . . .

- Hamisi anasoma sana kwa ajili ya kufaulu mtihani. Hamisi studies a lot in order to pass the exam.

C.4 Contrast/alternatives (16)

Licha ya kuwa . . . Though

- Licha ya kuwa Hamisi anasoma sana, hataweza kufaulu mtihani. Though Hamisi studies a lot, he will not pass the exam.

(17)

Ingawa . . . Although

- Ingawa Hamisi anasoma sana, hataweza kufaulu mtihani. Though Hamisi studies a lot, he will not pass the exam.

(18)

Ijapokuwa . . . Even though

- Hamisi anasoma sana, ijapokuwa hapendi shule Hamisi studies a lot, even though he does not like school.

222

Appendix C

(19)

Licha ya hayo, Despite that,

- Hamisi anasoma sana. Licha ya hayo, hapendi kuenda shule. Hamisi studies a lot. Despite that, he does not like going to school.

(20)

Mbali na hayo, Aside from that,

- Hamisi anasoma sana. Mbali na hayo, anapenda sana mpira. Hamisi studies a lot. Aside from that, he likes football a lot.

(21)

Hata hivyo, However,

- Hamisi anasoma sana. Hata hivyo, hataweza kufaulu mtihani. Hamisi studies a lot. However, he likes football a lot.

(22)

isipokuwa . . . except . . .

- Hamisi anasoma sana, isipokuwa haelewi anavyosoma. Hamisi reads a lot, except he does not understand what he reads.

(23)

ila . . . except . . .

- Hamisi anasoma sana, ila haelewi anavyosoma. Hamisi reads a lot, except he does not understand what he reads.

(24)

Angalau At least

- Angalau Hamisi anapenda kusoma. Wanafunzi wengine ni wavivu sana. At least Hamisi likes to read. The other students are very lazy.

(25)

Walakini, However,

- Hamisi anasoma sana. Walakini, haelewi anavyosoma. Hamisi reads a lot. However, he does not understand what he reads.

(26)

Kumbe, In fact, But, my goodness! Oh? Really?

- Nilifikiri kwamba Hamisi anapenda mpira tu; kumbe anapenda kusoma pia! I thought Hamisi just likes football; in fact he likes to read too! - Hamisi aliniambia eti anapenda kusoma; kumbe ni uongo mtupu. Hamisi told me that he allegedly likes to read; in fact it is an empty lie. - Kumbe wewe ni mwanamke! But, my goodness, you are a woman! - Hamisi anapenda kusoma sana. Kumbe? Hamisi likes to read. Oh? Really?

Appendix C

223

(27)

Badala ya (yake) Instead (of )

- Badala ya kusoma, Hamisi anatazama mpira kwenye televisheni. Instead of reading, Hamisi watches football on TV. - Hamisi hasomi. Badala yake, anatazama mpira kwenye televisheni. Hamisi does not read. Instead, he watches football on TV.

(28)

Kwa upande mwingine, On the other hand,

- Hamisi anasoma sana. Kwa upande mwingine, Fatuma anapenda kuandika. Hamisi reads a lot. On the other hand, Fatuma likes to write.

(29)

Kwa upande wake, For his/her part,

- Hamisi anapenda kusoma. Kwa upande wake, Fatuma anapenda kuandika. Hamisi likes to read. On her part, Fatuma likes to write.

(30)

wala nor

- Fatuma hapendi kusoma wala kuangalia mpira. Fatuma does not like reading nor watching football.

(31)

bali but rather

- Fatuma hapendi kusoma bali huandika. Fatuma does not like reading but rather writes.

(32)

au or

- Kila siku Hamisi husoma au huangalia mpira. Every day Hamisi reads or watches football.

(33)

ama otherwise, either (. . . or)

- Hamisi anahitaji kuandika zaidi, ama atashindwa mtihani. Hamisi needs to write more, otherwise he will fail his exam. - Ama Hamisi ataandika zaidi, au atashindwa mtihani. Either Hamisi will write more, or he will fail his exam.

(34)

la sivyo otherwise, if not

- Hamisi anahitaji kuandika zaidi, la sivyo atashindwa mtihani. Hamisi needs to write more; if not, he will fail his exam.

224

Appendix C

C.5 Parallelism/gradation (35)

Pia, Also,

- Hamisi anasoma sana. Pia, anapenda sana mpira. Hamisi reads a lot. Also, he likes football a lot.

(36)

Vile vile, as well

- Hamisi anasoma sana. Vile vile, anapenda sana mpira. Hamisi reads a lot. He likes football a lot as well.

(37)

Pamoja na hayo, Besides that,

- Hamisi anasoma sana. Pamoja na hayo, anapenda sana mpira. Hamisi reads a lot. Besides that, he likes football a lot.

(38)

Zaidi ya hayo, In addition,

- Hamisi anasoma sana. Zaidi ya hayo, anapenda sana mpira. Hamisi reads a lot. In addition, he likes football a lot.

(39)

Juu ya hayo, On top of that,

- Hamisi anasoma sana. Juu ya hayo, anapenda sana mpira. Hamisi reads a lot. On top of that, he likes football a lot.

(40)

Isitoshe, Moreover,

- Hamisi anasoma sana. Isitoshe, anapenda sana mpira. Hamisi reads a lot. Moreover, he likes football a lot.

(41)

Huku . . . -kiWhile + -ing

- Hamisi anasoma kitabu huku akitazama mpira. Hamisi is reading a book while watching football.

(42)

Hivi/Hali . . . -naWhile + -ing

- Hamisi anasoma kitabu hivi/hali anatazama mpira. Hamisi is reading a book while watching football.

(43)

Wakati huo (huo), At the same time,

- Hamisi anasoma kitabu. Wakati huo huo, anatazama mpira. Hamisi is reading a book. At the same time, he is watching football.

(44)

Kwa muda huo (huo), Simultaneously,

- Hamisi anasoma kitabu. Kwa muda huo, anatazama mpira. Hamisi is reading a book. Simultaneously, he is watching football.

(45)

Siku hiyo hiyo (~ mwezi, ~ mwaka) That same day (month, year)

- Ijumaa iliyopita, Hamisi alisoma sana. Siku hiyo hiyo, alitazama mpira. Last Friday, Hamisi read a book. That same day, he watched football.

Appendix C

225

C.6 Sequence of events (46)

Moja kwa moja, Immediately,

- Ijumaa iliyopita, Hamisi alisoma sana. Moja kwa moja, alielewa masomo yake. Last Friday, Hamisi read a lot. Immediately, he understood the lessons.

(47)

Mwanzoe, . . . mwishoe, Initially, . . . Eventually,

- Mwanzoe, Hamisi alisoma kitabu. Mwishoe, alitazama mpira. Initially, Hamisi read a book. Eventually, he watched football.

(48)

Baada ya + After X,

- Baada ya kusoma kitabu, Hamisi alitazama mpira. After reading a book, Hamisi watched football.

(49)

Baada ya hapo, Then,

- Hamisi alisoma kitabu. Baada ya hapo, alitazama mpira. Hamisi read a book. Then, he watched football.

(50)

Baadaye, Afterwards,

- Hamisi alisoma kitabu. Baadaye, alitazama mpira. Hamisi read a book. Afterwards, he watched football.

(51)

Halafu, Then,

- Hamisi alisoma kitabu. Halafu, alitazama mpira. Hamisi read a book. Then, he watched football.

(52)

Kisha, Then/afterwards

- Hamisi alisoma kitabu. Kisha akatazama mpira. Hamisi read a book. Then, he watched football.

(53)

Kabla ya + ~ noun Before X

- Kabla ya kutazama mpira, Hamisi alisoma kitabu. Before watching football, Hamisi read a book.

(54)

Kabla ya hapo, Before that,

- Hamisi alitazama mpira. Kabla ya hapo, alisoma kitabu. Hamisi watched football. Before that, he read a book.

(55)

Kuanzia hapo, Since then,

- Hamisi alishindwa mtihani. Kuanzia hapo, alisoma sana akaelewa kila kitu. Hamisi failed the exam. Since then, he has studied a lot and understood everything.

(56)

Mpaka hapo, Until then,

- Tangu Ijumaa iliyopita, Hamisi alisoma sana. Mpaka hapo, alikuwa akitazama mpira. Since last Friday, Hamisi has read a lot. Until then, he had been watching football.

(57)

Mpaka sasa ~ Hadi sasa, Until now,

- Mpaka sasa, Hamisi alipenda sana kusoma. Until now, Hamisi has liked to read very much.

infinitive

infinitive

226

Appendix C

(58)

Hatua kwa hatua, Little by little,

- Hatua kwa hatua, Hamisi akasoma vitabu vyote maktabani. Little by little, Hamisi read all the books in the library (lit. “step by step”).

(59)

Polepole, Slowly,

- Polepole, Hamisi alishika kitabu na kuanza kusoma. Slowly, Hamisi took a book and began reading.

C.7 Opinion/probability (60)

Kwa maoni yangu (yake, ya X) In my opinion, (his/her, . . .)

- Kwa maoni yangu, ni muhimu kusoma ili kufaulu mtihani. In my view, it is important to study in order to pass an exam.

(61)

Kwangu (kwake, kwake) To me, to you (him . . .)

- Kwangu, ni muhimu kusoma ili kufaulu mtihani. To me, it is important to study in order to pass an exam.

(62)

Bila shaka, Without a doubt,

- Bila shaka, ni muhimu kusoma ili kufaulu mtihani. Without a doubt, it is important to study in order to pass an exam.

(63)

Kwa (u)hakika, Surely; certainly,

- Kwa (u)hakika ni muhimu kusoma ili kufaulu mtihani. Surely, it is important to study in order to pass an exam.

(64)

Kwa (u)kweli, Truly,

- Kwa (u)kweli ni muhimu kusoma ili kufaulu mtihani. Truly, it is important to study in order to pass an exam.

(65)

Kwa bahati nzuri, Fortunately,

- Kwa bahati nzuri, Hamisi anapenda kusoma. Fortunately, Hamisi likes to read.

(66)

Kwa bahati mbaya, Unfortunately,

- Kwa bahati mbaya, Hamisi ameshindwa mtihani. Unfortunately, Hamisi failed the exam.

(67)

Pengine/Labda, Maybe

- Pengine/Labda Hamisi hakufanya kazi vizuri. Maybe Hamisi did not work properly.

(68)

Yaonekana (inaonekana kwamba) It appears that

- Yaonekana Hamisi hakufanya kazi vizuri. It appears that Hamisi did not work properly.

Appendix C

227

(69)

Yaelekea (inaelekea kwamba) It is probable that

- Yaelekea Hamisi ataacha masomo. It is probable that Hamisi will drop out.

(70)

Inawezekana It is possible (that)

- Inawezekana Hamisi ameamua kuacha masomo. It is possible that Hamisi has decided to drop out.

(71)

Huenda Perhaps

- Huenda Hamisi ameamua kuacha masomo. Perhaps Hamisi has decided to drop out.

(72)

yaani/maana yake that is

- Hamisi ameacha masomo, yaani/maana yake hatarudi shule tena. Hamisi has dropped out, that is, he will not return to school anymore.

C.8 Occurrence (73)

Mara kwa mara, From time to time,

- Mara kwa mara, Hamisi anatazama mpira kwenye televisheni. From time to time, Hamisi watches football on TV.

(74)

Kila mara, Each time,

- Kila mara, Hamisi anatazama mpira kwenye televisheni. Each time, Hamisi watches football on TV.

(75)

Mara zote, Every time,

- Mara zote, Hamisi anatazama mpira kwenye televisheni. Every time, Hamisi watches football on TV.

(76)

Kila wakati, All the time,

- Kila wakati, Hamisi anatazama mpira kwenye televisheni. Hamisi watches football on TV, all the time.

(77)

Bila kuchelewa, Without delay,

- Bila kuchelewa, Hamisi akashika kitabu na kuanza kusoma. Without delay, Hamisi took a book and began reading.

(78)

(Kwa) ghafla, Suddenly,

- (Kwa) ghafla, timu ya Hamisi ikafunga goli la kwanza. Suddenly, Hamisi’s team scored the first goal.

(79)

(Kwa) haraka, Quickly,

- (Kwa) haraka, Hamisi akarusha mpira. Quickly, Hamisi kicked the ball.

(80)

Bila kusita, Without hesitation,

- Bila kusita, Hamisi akarusha mpira. Without hesitation, Hamisi kicked the ball.

(81)

Kwa kawaida, Usually,

- Kwa kawaida, Hamisi husoma kabla ya kuenda kucheza mpira. Usually, Hamisi studies before going to play football.

228

Appendix C

C.9 Enumeration (82)

Kwanza (kabisa) ~ Mosi, First, etc.

- Kwanza kabisa, ni muhimu kusoma ili kufaulu mtihani. First (of all), it is important to study in order to pass an exam.

(83)

Pili, Tatu, . . . Second(ly); Third(ly),

- Pili, mpira si lazima kwa mwanafunzi. Secondly, football is not necessary for a student.

(84)

Mwisho, ~ Hatimaye, Finally,

- Mwisho, kama mwanafunzi amemaliza kusoma anaweza kutazama mpira. Finally, if a student finishes studying, he may watch football.

C.10 Conclusion (85)

Kwa kifupi ~ ufupi, In short; in brief

- Kwa kifupi, ni muhimu kusoma ili kufaulu mtihani. In brief, it is important to study in order to pass an exam.

(86)

Kwa ujumla, In sum; overall

- Kwa ujumla, ni muhimu kusoma ili kufaulu mtihani. In sum, it is important to study in order to pass an exam.

(87)

Kimsingi, Basically,

- Kimsingi, kusoma kunasaidia kufaulu mtihani. Basically, studying helps to pass an exam.

(88)

Kwa kumaliza, In conclusion,

- Kwa kumaliza, ni muhimu kusoma ili kufaulu mtihani. In conclusion, it is important to study in order to pass an exam.

Appendix D: Use of verb tenses in Swahili proverbs

Swahili proverbs (or “methali”) may be introduced in conversation with expressions such as “Kama Waswahili wanavyosema . . ./Wasemavyo Waswahili . . .” or “Kama wahenga walivyosema . . ./Walivyosema wahenga . . .” (“As the Swahili say . . .”; “As the elders used to say . . .”). They make frequent use of infinitive-derived nouns (seen in Language note 22.3), and the indicative present in negative form or in habitual tense, the conditional mood (“probable” form -ki-), and the relative clause. Some proverbs also make use of comparison patterns, while others use ellipsis, especially the omission of the verb ni “be”. In addition, various proverbs are split in two parts with an equal number of syllables, sometimes ending in similar sounds (see rhythm and rhymes). These various features are illustrated in the samples that follow (for more details, see Parker 1974).

D.1 Proverbs with infinitive-derived nouns (1) Mpiga ngumi ukutani huumiza mkonowe. “He who hits a wall with his fist hurts his own arm.” (@ Who acts stupidly endures negative consequences.) (2) Mwenda pole hajikwai. [4/4 rhythm] “He who walks calmly does not trip himself.” (3) Simba mwenda kimya, ndiye mla nyama. [6/6 rhythm] “The lion that moves silently is the one that gets to eat meat.” (@ Who wants to succeed keeps his intentions secret.) (4) Mchimba kisima huingia mwenyewe. “He who digs a well usually falls in it himself” (lit. “enters it”). (5) Mchagua jembe si mkulima. “He who chooses a hoe is not a farmer.” (@ A doer is seldom choosy about the implements.) (6) Mpanda ngazi hushuka. “He who climbs stairs always descends.” (@ No one stays on top forever.) (7) Mtaka cha mvunguni, sharti ainame. “He who wants what is underneath must stoop.” (@ Who wants to succeed must make all necessary efforts.)

230

Appendix D

D.2 Proverbs with the indicative present in negative form (8) Akiba haiozi. “Reserves do not rot.” (9) Jogoo la shamba haliwiki mjini. “A country rooster does not crow in town.” (10) Maji ya moto hayachomi nyumba. “Hot water does not burn a house.” (11) Maji hayapandi mlima. “Water does not climb a mountain.” (Said about impossible tasks.) (12) Mafahali wawili hawakai zizi moja. “Two bulls do not live in one cowshed.” (13) Fimbo ya mbali haiui nyoka. “A faraway stick cannot kill a snake.” (14) Haraka karaka haina baraka. [6/6 rhythm; rhyme in -ka] “Haste, haste, has no blessing.” (“Haste makes waste.”) (15) Kuku havunji yai lake. “A hen does not break its own egg.”

D.3 Proverbs with the habitual tense (16) Haba na haba, hujaza kibaba. [rhyme in -ba] “Little by little, fills the basket.” (17) Siku ya kufa nyani, miti yote huteleza. “The day a monkey is destined to die, all trees get slippery.” (18) Mtumaini cha nduguye, hufa masikini. “He who relies on his relative’s property, dies poor.” (19) Mvumilivu hula mbivu. [rhyme in -vu] “He who is patient gets to eat ripe fruit.” (20) Mcheza kwao hutunzwa. “He who plays at home gets rewarded.” (21) Kamba hukatikia pabovu. “A rope breaks where it is weak.” (22) Kanzu ya Ijumaa hufuliwa Alhamisi. “The garment for Friday is (better) laundered on Thursday.”

D.4 Proverbs with the conditional mood (“probable” form -ki-) (23) Maji yakimwagika, hayazoleki. “If water spills, it cannot be gathered up.” (24) Ngoma ikivuma sana, karibu kupasuka. “If a drum sounds very well (loudly), it is near to splitting.” (@ If something works very well, it may be a sign that it is about to stall.) (25) Ukitaka kula nguruwe, chagua aliyenona. “If you resolve to eat pork, choose one fat pig.” (26) Ukimtaja nyoka, shika fimbo. “If you mention a snake, grab a stick.”

Appendix D 231 (27) Mwenzako akinyolewa wewe tia maji. “If your companion is being shaved, put some water (in your hair).” (This softens hair and alleviates the razor pain.) (28) Mjinga akierevuka, mwerevu yupo mashakani. “If the fool gets clever, the clever one is in trouble” (29) Usipoziba ufa, utajenga ukuta. [rhythm 7/7; rhyme in -a] “If you do not mend a crack, you will have to build a wall.”

D.5 Proverbs with a relative clause (30) Ajuaye mengi, hasemi mengi. [final repetition: mengi] “He who knows more speaks less.” (31) Hapana maji yasiyo na mawimbi. “There is no water without waves.” (32) Kitanda usichokilala, hujui kunguni wake. “A bed that you do not sleep on, you cannot know its bugs.” (33) Pilipili usizozila zakuwashaje? “Chilis you don’t eat, how can they burn you?” (34) Asiyesikia la mkuu huvunjika mguu. [rhyme in -uu] “He who does not listen to an elder’s advice breaks his own leg.” (35) Asiyefunzwa na wazazi hufundishwa na dunia. “He who is not taught by parents gets taught by the world.” (36) Kikulacho ki nguoni mwako. [rhyme in -o] “That which eats you up is in your clothing.” (About being betrayed by someone close.) (37) Asiyekujua hakuthamini. “He/she who does not know you, does not value you”. (38) Akufukuzaye hakwambii “toka.” “He who wants you out of her/his place does not (need to) tell you, ‘Get out.’” (39) Akupigaye kumbo hakuambii sumile. “He who wants to knock you down does not tell you ‘attention!’”

D.6 Proverbs with an imperative/subjunctive verb (40) Mtoto akililia wembe, mpe. “If a child cries for a razor blade, give him.” (About letting people who do not listen learn through unfortunate experiences.) (41) Ukiona vyaelea, vimeundwa. “If you see them afloat (the boats), someone has built them.” (42) Penye kuku wengi usimwage mtama. “Where there are many hens, do not spill sorghum (millet).” (43) Usitukane wagema na ulevi ungalipo. “Don’t insult the brewers (lit. the palm wine tappers) while alcohol drinking (lit. alcoholism) still exists” (Usitukane wakunga na uzazi ungalipo. “Don’t insult midwives while parenting still exists.”)

232

Appendix D

D.7 Proverbs with an infinitive verb (44) Kuishi kwingi ni kuona mengi. [rhyme in -ngi] “To live long is to see much.” (45) Kujikwaa si kuanguka, bali ni kwenda mbele. “Tripping is not falling but going forward.” (46) Kula kutamu, kulima mavune. “Eating is sweet, cultivating is tiredness.” (47) Kupotea njia ndiyo kujua njia. “Getting lost is learning the way indeed.” (48) Kulea mimba si kazi, kazi kulea mwana. “Nursing a pregnancy is not hard, what is hard is raising a child.” (49) Kuzima koleo si mwisho wa uhunzi. “The cooling down of the tongs is not the end of forging.” (50) Kwenda mbio si kufika. “Going fast is not necessarily arriving.”

D.8 Proverbs with a comparison term (51) Afadhali akutembeleaye kuliko akutumiaye salamu. “Better than the one who sends you greetings is the one who visits you.” (52) Afadhali utu kuliko kitu. [rhyme in -tu] “Better humanity than possessions (things).” (53) Bora kujikwaa kidole kuliko kujikwaa ulimi. “Better to stumble with the toe than with the tongue.” (54) Ulimi unauma kuliko meno. “The tongue bites more than the teeth.”

D.9 Ellipsis (verb ni “be” omitted) (55) Kukopa harusi kulipa matanga. [7/7 rhythm] “Borrowing is like a wedding, repaying is like mourning.” (56) Nazi mbovu harabu ya nzima. “One rotten coconut, ruin for good ones.” (57) Hasira za mkizi, furaha kwa mvuvi. [7/7 rhythm; rhyme in -i] “Mullet fish’s anger, joy for the fisherman.” (When disturbed e.g. by light, mullet fish jump in the air and may get caught by fishermen.)

Vocabulary list

1 2 3 4 5

Nouns without a prefix that are in class [ø-li/ma-ya] are systematically listed with the plural prefix ma-. Plural forms that do not follow general phonetic patterns are given in full. Nouns with a prefix u- are in class [mu-u/n-zi] by default, while non-animate nouns without a prefix are in class [n-i/n-zi] by default. Noun classes that do not follow common patterns are indicated with hints in brackets (e.g. [u-]), while optional prefixes or conjunctions are given in parentheses. In both the Swahili–English and the English–Swahili sections, verbs are given in the infinitive form in the target language, in order to prevent confusion with nouns or adjectives.

Swahili–English -acha adui (ma-) afadhali afya -ahidi aina -ake -ako -alika -ambia -amini -amka -amkia -andaa andazi/maandazi -andika -angalia -angu -anguka anwani, ~ anuani -anza -ao asubuhi

to leave sb./sth. enemy preferable health to promise sort of his/her(s)/its your(s) to invite to tell to to trust/believe to wake up to greet to prepare beignet to write to look at/pay attention; watch my; mine (my) to fall down address to start their(s) morning

baadaye baba babu (ma-)

afterwards father grandfather

bado baina (ya) baisikeli -baki bandari bao/mabara/mabarabara baridi barua basi/ma-baya -beba bei bibi (ma-) -bivu -bomoa bora bustani bwana (ma-)

yet (not yet); still between bike to remain port board game; goal (in game) continent road cold letter (message) bus bad to carry price grandmother ripe to demolish better; very good garden; yard (house) gentleman; mister

-cha -chache -chafu -chagua chai/chai chakula chama -cheka

to dawn; to fear (obsolete) few dirty to choose tea food association; party (political) to laugh

234

Vocabulary list

-chelewa -cheza chini (ya) -choka chombo choo -chora -chukua chumba chungwa/machuo chuo kikuu

get/be late to play beneath; under; down get/be tired dish; tool; utensil; vessel bathroom to draw to take room orange college university

dada daftari/madakika daktari -danganya darasa/madawa dhahabu -dharau -dogo duka/ma-

sister notebook minutes doctor to lie class; classroom medicine gold to disdain; disregard little; small store

-ekundu -eleza -elezea elfu -ema (njema) -embamba embe/maembe -enda -endelea

eneo/maeneo -enu -enye -enyewe -epesi -etu -eupe -eusi

red to explain to explain to sb. thousand kind; nice thin; narrow mango to go to continue (state)/progress, develop (state), keep (doing) to spread (state)/extend over (state) region; area your(s) [you all] with (that has) self (my-; him-; it- . . .) light (adjective) our(s) white black

-fa -faa -fahamu familia -fanya -faulu -ficha -fika -finyu friji -fuata

to die suitable (be –); beneficial (be –) to understand/know (a person) family to do to succeed to hide to arrive/reach (a place) narrow fridge to follow

-enea

-fundisha -funga -fungua -fupi -furahi

to teach to close sth./lock/score (game) to open short happy (be)

gani? gari/ma-gawa -gawana -gawanya gazeti/ma-geni ghali -gombana -gonga -gumu

what (+ noun)? car to distribute to share to divide newspaper foreign expensive to argue/quarrel to hit (collision) hard; difficult

habari hadi hadithi hakika hali -hama hapa haraka -haribika -haribu hatari heri -hitaji hospitali huduma huruma

news until story certain; certainty condition (state) to move (change places) here hurry damaged (be) to damage danger preferable to need hospital service compassion; mercy; pity; sympathy

-iba Ijumaa imara -imba -ingi -ingia -ingine -isha -ishi ishirini -ita

to steal Friday strong to sing many; a lot to enter other to finish (state) to live twenty to call

-ja -jaa jahazi/ma-jali

to come full (become/be) dhow to care about/worry (be worried) relative ( family) matter; thing yesterday to try

jamaa jambo/mambo jana -jaribu

Vocabulary list 235 jasiri -jenga jengo/ma-jibu jicho/macho jiko/meko jina/majino/meno jioni jirani -jisikia afadhali jiwe/mawe -jua jua (majua) Jumapili juu (ya)

brave; courageous to build building to answer eye fireplace name tooth evening neighbor to feel better stone to know sun Sunday over; up; on top

-kaa kabati kabisa kadhaa kaka kalamu -kali kama kamusi kando (ya) kanzu karatasi karibu karibu (na) -kasirika -kata -kataa kati (ya) katika kawaida kazi kazi ya nyumbani kelele kesho -keti Kiarabu kiasi kiatu/viatu kiboko kichwa kidogo Kiingereza kijana kila kileo -kimbia kinywaji kiongozi kioo/vioo kisa

to sit/stay (loc.), live (loc.) cupboard absolutely some; several brother pen fierce; sharp; severe; virulent if; like; as dictionary beside; aside; along robe paper welcome near; almost (+ verb) angry (get/be –) to cut to refuse between in habit job; work homework noise tomorrow to sit Arabic quantity; amount shoe hippopotamus; whip; lash head a little English youngster each; every liquor to run/run away drink leader mirror incident

kwamba kwanza kweli kweli kweli kwenye

then (sequence) island book bed chair thing station thirst hat to liberate computer very old to borrow coat to accept big chicken rather than to remember ten to meet/find somewhere to meet (with) from (directional) main with (instrument); by (means, manner); per that (quotation) first (sequence) true truly on; in

-la lakini -lala -laumu lazima -le -lea leo -leta -letea -lewa -lia likizo lini? -lipa lugha

to eat but to sleep/lie down to blame obligation that/those (over there) to raise (child)/rear today to bring to bring to someone drunk (be) to cry vacation when? to pay language

maelezo maendeleo mafuta [ma-] mahali maji [ma-] maktaba/maktaba -maliza mama

explanation progress oil; animal fat place (location) water library to finish sth. mother

kisha kisiwa kitabu kitanda kiti kitu kituo kiu kofia -komboa kompyuta -kongwe -kopa koti/ma-kubali -kubwa kuku kuliko -kumbuka kumi -kuta -kutana (na) kutoka -kuu kwa

236

Vocabulary list

mapema Marekani mashambani masomo maziwa [ma-] mbali (na) mbalimbali mbele (ya) mbu/mbu mbuga/mbuga mbwa/mbwa mchana mchezo mchopozi mchumba meli meza mfanyakazi mfuko mgeni mgonjwa mguu mia mimi miwani [mi-] mizigo mji mjinga mjomba mkate mke/wake mkeka mkoba mkono mkulima mkurugenzi mlango mlima mnafiki mnene mno mnyama -moja -mojawapo moto/mioto moyo/mioyo mpaka mpaka [mu-] mpango mpira mrembo msaidizi mshahara mshindani msichana mswahili

early America countryside (in the) studies milk far various in front mosquito game reserve dog afternoon game; play pickpocket fiancé/e boat table worker; employee bag; pocket guest; foreigner ill; patient (sick person) leg hundred me eyeglasses luggage city; town stupid uncle (maternal) bread wife mat bag (handbag; backpack) arm (body part) farmer director door mountain hypocrite fat (person) too much; extremely; excessively animal one one of fire heart until border plan ball; soccer beautiful (pers.); pretty (pers.) assistant salary competitor girl Swahili person

mti mtihani mto mtu muda/mida muhimu muhtasari/mihtasari mume/waume Mungu muziki (mu-) mvulana mwaka/miaka mwalimu mwanafunzi mwanamke/wanawake mwanamume mwananchi mwarabu/waarabu mwerevu mwezi mwiko/miiko mwili/miili mwizi/wezi mwongo/waongo mzalendo mzee

tree exam pillow; river person; human being period of time important summary(ies) husband God music boy year teacher student woman/women man citizen Arab clever month taboo body robber liar patriot elder

na -nane nani? nchi ndani (ya) ndege ndiyo ndizi ndugu -nene -nenepa -ngali ng’ambo -ngapi? ng’ombe nguo nguruwe nini? ninyi njaa nje njia -nne -nunua nusu nyama -nyoa nyoka nyuma (ya) nyumba

and; with (together) eight who? country inside plane; bird yes banana sibling thick fat (become/be) still be abroad how many? cow clothes pig what? you (plural) hunger outside way; pathway four to buy half meat to cut hair snake behind house

Vocabulary list 237 -nywa nywele (pl.)

to drink hair

-oa -oana -ogopa -olewa -omba ombaomba (ma-) ombi/ma-ona -ondoka -ongea -onya -onyesha onyo/maonyo -ote

to marry ( for men) to marry (each other) to fear to marry ( for women) to request/pray, beg beggar request; prayer to see to leave (depart) to converse to warn to show warning all; whole

-pa paka -pana -panda pasipoti -pata -patia -peleka -penda -pendekeza -pendeza pesa -pi? pia picha -piga -piga picha -pika -pima -pindua -pinduka

-potea pua -pumzika -pungua -pya

to give to cat spacious; broad; wide to climb/board passport to obtain/get sth. to give to/pass to sb. to send sth. to/take to to like/love to recommend pleasant (be); nice (be); please money which? also; too (also) picture to beat/hit to take picture(s) to cook to measure to overturn sth. to overturn (self )/get overturned to pass/surpass purse receive sorry (sympathy) slowly alcohol (beverage); beer dolphin heal (disease; patient); recover lost (get/be) nose to rest to decrease (state) new

rafiki rahisi

friend easy; affordable; cheap

-pita pochi -pokea pole polepole pombe pomboo -pona

ruhusa -ruhusu runinga

president color; paint radio long to rectify/adjust, alter (e.g. clothing) to return (back)/come back to bring sb./sth. back/return sth. to (a place) permission to allow/permit television

saa saba sababu safari safi -safiri -safisha -sahau -saidia salama salamu -salimia samahani -samehe sana sanduku/masasa sauti sawa sebule sehemu -sema serikali shairi/mashamba/ma-shangaa -shangaza shangazi sharti/mashati/ma-shauri shemeji (ma-) shida -shika shilingi shimo/ma-shinda -shindana -shindwa -shona -shughulikia shujaa shule -sikia

watch (time); clock; hour seven cause trip; journey; travel clean to travel to clean to forget to help peace; peacefully greetings to greet sorry (apology) to forgive/pardon very; very much; a lot trunk; suitcase now voice; sound similar living room area to speak government poem farm; field to be astonished to astonish; to surprise aunt (paternal) obligation; must shirt to advise brother-in-law; sister-in-law problem; difficulty to take shilling hole to win/defeat to compete to fail/lose (be defeated) to sew to look after/attend to hero school to hear

rais (ma-) rangi redio -refu -rekebisha -rudi -rudisha

238

Vocabulary list

-sikiliza siku -simama simba sinema -sinzia sisi sita sitini soksi -soma somo/ma-subiri -suka sukari -sumbua suruali

to listen day to stop (self )/stand up lion movie to sleep/asleep ( fall/be –) us six sixty socks to read/learn/study lesson to wait ( for) to braid sugar to annoy/bother pants; trousers

taa tafadhali -tafuta taifa/ma-taka -tamani -tamu tangu -tano tatizo/ma-tawala tayari -tazama -tegemea televisheni -tembea -tembelea tembo tena -tengeneza -teua thelathini -tia -tii tiketi tisa -tisha -toka -tosha treni -tukana -tulia tumbo -tumia tunda/ma-

lamp please to look for nation to want to desire delicious; sweet since five problem; difficulty to govern ready; already to watch to rely on television to walk to visit elephant again; anymore to fix/repair to designate/select thirty to put to obey ticket nine to scare/terrify to come from; to go away to be enough/be sufficient train to insult calm (be); calm down (state) stomach to use fruit

-ua ua/maua ua/nyua

to kill flower fence

-umwa upepo usiku uzio/nyuzio

embassy board key stiff porridge disease ill (be); sick (be) to nurse (patient) message living room; hall wall Europe to ask (question) electricity to suffer (be in pain)/hurt (be/get) to suffer (sick)/sick (be) wind night fence

-vaa vipi? vizuri -vunjika -vutia

to wear how? well (adverb) break (state); broken (be) to attract

-wa wali [u-] wao wapi? -wasili -weka wewe -weza wifi (ma-) wikendi wiki -wili wimbo/nyimbo -winda wivu [u-]

to be/become rice (cooked) them where? to arrive to put/place you (singular) can/able (be) sister-in-law weekend week two song to hunt envy; jealousy

yai/mayeye

egg him/her

zaidi -zaliwa zamani zawadi -zee -zidi -zima -zito -zoea zoezi/ma-zuia -zuri

more to be born long ago gift old to exceed/outnumber healthy; entire; adult heavy to get/be accustomed exercise to restrain good; nice

ubalozi ubao ufunguo ugali ugonjwa/ma-ugua -uguza ujumbe ukumbi ukuta Ulaya -uliza umeme -umia

Vocabulary list 239

English–Swahili able (be) abroad absolutely accept address adjust adult advise affordable afternoon afterwards again alcohol (beverage) all allow almost (+ verb) along already also alter (e.g. clothing) America amount and angry (get/be) animal annoy answer anymore Arab Arabic area argue arm (body part) arrive as aside ask (question) asleep ( fall/be –) assistant association astonish astonished (be –) attend to attract aunt (paternal)

kuweza ng’ambo kabisa kukubali anwani, ~ anuani kurekebisha -zima kushauri rahisi mchana baadaye tena pombe -ote kuruhusu karibu kando (ya) tayari pia kurekebisha Marekani kiasi na kukasirika mnyama kusumbua kujibu tena mwarabu/waarabu Kiarabu eneo/maeneo, sehemu kugombana mkono kufika, kuwasili kama kando (ya) kuuliza kusinzia msaidizi chama kushangaza kushangaa kushughulikia kuvutia shangazi (ma-)

bad bag bag (handbag; backpack) ball banana bathroom be beat

-baya mfuko mkoba mpira ndizi choo kuwa kupiga

beautiful (pers.) become bed beer beg beggar behind beignet believe beneath beneficial (be –) beside better between big bike bird black blame board board board game boat body book border born (be –) borrow bother boy braid brave bread break (state) bring bring sb./sth. back bring to sb. broad broken (be –) brother brother-in-law build building bus but buy by (means; manner)

mrembo kuwa kitanda pombe kuomba ombaomba (ma-) nyuma (ya) andazi/maandazi kuamini chini (ya) kufaa kando (ya) bora baina (ya), kati (ya) -kubwa baisikeli ndege -eusi kulaumu ubao kupanda bao/mameli mwili/miili kitabu mpaka kuzaliwa kukopa kusumbua mvulana kusuka jasiri mkate -vunjika kuleta kurudisha kuletea -pana kuvunjika kaka shemeji (ma-) kujenga jengo/mabasi/malakini kununua kwa

call calm (be –) calm down (state) can (be able to) car care about carry cat cause

kuita kutulia kutulia kuweza gari/makujali kubeba paka sababu

240

Vocabulary list

certain; certainty chair cheap chicken choose citizen city class; classroom clean clean clever climb clock close sth. clothes coat cold college color come come back come from; from compassion compete competitor computer condition (state) continent continue (state) converse cook country countryside (in the) courageous (pers.) cow cry cupboard cut cut hair

hakika kiti rahisi kuku kuchagua mwananchi mji darasa/masafi kusafisha mwerevu kupanda saa kufunga nguo koti/mabaridi chuo rangi kuja kurudi kutoka huruma kushindana mshindani kompyuta hali bara/makuendelea kuongea kupika nchi mashambani jasiri ng’ombe kulia kabati kukata kunyoa

damage damaged (be –) danger dawn (verb) day December decrease (state) defeat defend delicious demolish designate desire develop (state) dhow dictionary die

kuharibu kuharibika hatari kucha siku Disemba kupungua kushinda kutetea -tamu kubomoa kuteua kutamani kuendelea jahazi/makamusi kufa

difficult difficulty director dirty disdain disease dish (utensil) distribute divide do doctor dog dolphin door down draw drink drink (beverage) drunk (be –)

-gumu shida, tatizo/mamkurugenzi -chafu kudharau ugonjwa/machombo kugawa kugawanya kufanya daktari mbwa/mbwa pomboo mlango chini (ya) kuchora kunywa kinywaji kulewa

each early easy eat egg eight elder electricity elephant embassy employee enemy English enough (be –) enter entire envy Europe evening every exam exceed excessively exercise expensive explain explain to sb. explanation extend over (state) extremely eye eyeglasses

kila mapema rahisi kula yai/ma-nane mzee umeme tembo ubalozi mfanyakazi adui Kiingereza kutosha kuingia -zima wivu [u-] Ulaya jioni kila mtihani kuzidi mno zoezi/maghali kueleza kuelezea maelezo kuenea mno jicho/macho miwani [mi-]

fail fall down family far

kushindwa kuanguka familia mbali (na)

Vocabulary list 241 farm farmer fat (become/be –) fat ( from animal) fat (pers.) father fear feel better fence few fiancé/e field fierce find somewhere finish (state) finish sth. fire fireplace first (sequence) five fix flower follow food foreign foreigner forget forgive four Friday fridge friend from (directional) fruit full (become/be –)

shamba/mamkulima kunenepa mafuta mnene baba kuogopa, kucha (obsolete) kujisikia afadhali ua/nyua, uzio/nyuzio -chache mchumba shamba/ma-kali kukuta kwisha kumaliza moto/mioto jiko/meko kwanza -tano kutengeneza ua/maua kufuata chakula -geni mgeni kusahau kusamehe -nne Ijumaa friji rafiki kutoka tunda/makujaa

game game reserve garden gentleman get sth. get/be accustomed gift girl give to go go away goal (in game) God gold good govern government grandfather grandmother greet

mchezo mbuga/mbuga bustani bwana kupata -zoea zawadi msichana kupa, kupatia kuenda kutoka bao/maMungu dhahabu -zuri kutawala serikali babu bibi kuamkia, kusalimia

greetings guest

salamu mgeni

habit hair half hall happy (be –) hard hat head heal (disease; patient) health healthy hear heart heavy help here hero hide him/her hippopotamus his/her(s)/its hit hole homework hospital hour house how? how many? human being hundred hunger hunt hurry hurt (be/get –) husband hypocrite

kawaida nywele (pl.) nusu ukumbi kufurahi -gumu kofia kichwa kupona afya -zima kusikia moyo/mioyo -zito kusaidia hapa shujaa kuficha yeye kiboko -ake kugonga (collision), kupiga shimo/makazi ya nyumbani hospitali saa nyumba vipi? -ngapi? mtu mia njaa kuwinda haraka kuumia mume/waume mnafiki

if ill ill (be) important in in front incident inside insult invite island

kama mgonjwa kuugua muhimu katika, kwenye mbele (ya) kisa ndani (ya) kutukana kualika kisiwa

jealousy job journey

wivu [u-] kazi safari

242

Vocabulary list

keep (doing) key kill kind know know (a pers.)

kuendelea ufunguo kuua -ema (njema) kujua kufahamu

lamp language lash late (get/be –) laugh leader learn leave (depart) leave sb./sth. leg lesson letter (message) liar liberate library lie lie down light (adjective) like like lion liquor listen little little (a –) live live (loc.) living room lock long long ago look after look at look for lose (be defeated) lost (get/be –) lot (a –) love luggage

taa lugha kiboko kuchelewa kucheka kiongozi kusoma kuondoka kuacha mguu somo/mabarua mwongo/waongo kukomboa maktaba/maktaba kudanganya kulala -epesi kama kupenda simba kileo kusikiliza -dogo kidogo kuishi kukaa ukumbi/kumbi, sebule kufunga -refu zamani kushughulikia kuangalia kutafuta kushindwa kupotea -ingi; sana kupenda mizigo

main man mango many marry (each other) marry (for men) marry (for women) mat matter

-kuu mwanamume embe/maembe -ingi kuoana kuoa kuolewa mkeka jambo/mambo

me measure meat medicine meet meet (with) mercy message milk mine (my) minutes mirror mister money month more morning mosquito mother mountain move (change places) movie music must my

mimi kupima nyama dawa kukuta kukutana (na) huruma ujumbe maziwa [ma-] -angu dakika kioo/vioo bwana pesa mwezi zaidi asubuhi mbu/mbu mama mlima kuhama sinema muziki [mu-] lazima, sharti -angu

name narrow nation near necessity need neighbor new news newspaper nice nice (be –) nice (kind) night nine noise nose notebook now nurse (patient)

jina/ma-embamba, -finyu taifa/makaribu (na) haja kuhitaji jirani (ma-) -pya habari gazeti/ma-zuri kupendeza -ema (njema) usiku/mausiku tisa kelele pua daftari/masasa kuuguza

obey obligation obtain oil old on on top one one of open

kutii lazima, sharti/makupata mafuta [ma-] -zee kwenye juu (ya) -moja -mojawapo kufungua

Vocabulary list 243 orange other our(s) outnumber outside over overturn (self ), get overturned overturn sth.

chungwa/ma-ingine -etu kuzidi nje juu (ya) kupinduka

paint pants paper party (political) pass to sb. passport pathway patient (sick) patriot pay pay attention peace; peaceful(ly) pen per period of time permission permit person pickpocket picture pig pillow pity place place (loc.) plan plane play play pleasant (be –) please please pocket poem port pray prayer preferable prepare president pretty (pers.) price problem progress progress promise purse

rangi suruali karatasi chama kupatia pasipoti njia mgonjwa mzalendo kulipa kuangalia salama kalamu kwa muda/mida ruhusa kuruhusu mtu mchopozi picha nguruwe mto huruma kuweka mahali mpango ndege mchezo kucheza kupendeza tafadhali kupendeza mfuko shairi/mabandari kuomba ombi/maafadhali, heri kuandaa rais (ma-) mrembo bei shida, tatizo/mamaendeleo kuendelea kuahidi pochi

kupindua

put quantity quarrel

kuweka, kutia kiasi kugombana

radio raise (child) rather than reach (a place) read ready rear (child) receive recommend recover ( from disease) rectify red refuse region relative ( family) rely on remain remember repair request request rest restrain return return sth. to (a place) rice (cooked) ripe river road robber robe room run, run away

redio kulea kuliko kufika kusoma tayari kulea kupokea kupendekeza kupona kurekebisha -ekundu kukataa eneo/maeneo jamaa kutegemea kubaki kukumbuka kutengeneza ombi/makuomba kupumzika kuzuia kurudi kurudisha wali [u-] -bivu mto barabara mwizi/wezi kanzu chumba kukimbia

salary scare school score (game) see select self (my-; him-; it- . . .) send service seven several severe sew shame share sharp shilling shine shirt

mshahara kutisha shule kufunga kuona kuteua -enyewe kupeleka huduma saba kadhaa -kali kushona haya kugawana -kali shilingi kuwaka shati/ma-

244

Vocabulary list

shoe short show sibling sick (be) similar since sing sister sister-in-law sister-in-law (for women) sit six sixty sleep slowly small snake soccer socks some (several) song sorry (apology) sorry (sympathy) sort of sound spacious speak spread (state) stand up start station stay (loc.) steal stiff porridge still still be stomach stone stop (self ) store story strong student studies study stupid succeed suffer (be in pain) suffer (sickness) sufficient (be –) sugar suitable (be –) suitcase summary(ies) sun Sunday

kiatu/viatu -fupi kuonyesha ndugu kuugua, kuumwa sawa tangu kuimba dada shemeji (ma-) wifi (ma-) kukaa, kuketi sita sitini kulala, kusinzia polepole -dogo nyoka mpira soksi kadhaa wimbo/nyimbo samahani pole aina sauti -pana kusema kuenea kusimama kuanza kituo kukaa kuiba ugali bado -ngali tumbo jiwe/mawe kusimama duka/mahadithi imara mwanafunzi masomo kusoma mjinga kufaulu kuumia kuumwa kutosha sukari kufaa sanduku/mamuhtasari/mihtasari jua (majua) Jumapili

surpass surprise Swahili person sweet sympathy

kupita kushangaza mswahili -tamu huruma

table taboo take take pictures take to tea teach teacher television tell to ten terrify that (quotation) that/those (over there) their(s) them then (sequence) thick thin thing thirst thirty thousand ticket tired (get/be –) today tomorrow too (also) too much tool tooth town train travel travel tree trip true truly trunk trust try twenty two

meza mwiko/miiko kuchukua, kushika kupiga picha kupeleka chai/chai kufundisha mwalimu runinga, televisheni kuambia kumi kutisha kwamba -le -ao wao kisha -nene -embamba jambo/mambo, kitu kiu thelathini elfu tiketi kuchoka leo kesho pia mno chombo jino/meno mji treni kusafiri safari mti safari kweli kweli kweli sanduku/makuamini kujaribu ishirini -wili

uncle (maternal) under understand university until up

mjomba chini (ya) kufahamu chuo kikuu hadi, mpaka juu (ya)

Vocabulary list 245 us use utensil

sisi kutumia chombo

vacation various very very good very much very old vessel virulent visit voice

likizo mbalimbali sana bora sana -kongwe chombo -kali kutembelea sauti

wait (for) wake up walk wall want warn warning watch watch (time) water way wear week weekend welcome well (adverb) what (+ noun)?

kusubiri kuamka kutembea ukuta kutaka kuonya onyo/maonyo kuangalia, kutazama saa maji njia kuvaa wiki wikendi karibu vizuri gani?

what? when? where? which? whip white who? whole wide wife win wind with (instrument) with (that has) with (together) woman/women work worker worry (be worried) write

nini? lini? wapi? -pi? kiboko -eupe nani? -ote -pana mke/wake kushinda upepo kwa -enye na mwanamke/ wanawake kazi mfanyakazi kujali kuandika

yard (house) year yes yesterday yet (not yet) you (plural) you (singular) youngster your(s) your(s) [you all]

bustani mwaka/miaka ndiyo jana bado ninyi wewe kijana -ako -enu

References

Ali, Hassan O. and Ali M. Mazrui. 2004. Teach Yourself Swahili. www.glcom.com/hassan/ lessons/teach_yourself_swahili_cd_content.pdf Ashton, Ethel O. 1944. Swahili Grammar, Including Intonation. London: Longmans. BAKIZA (Baraza la Kiswahili la Zanzibar). 2010. Kamusi la Kiswahili Fasaha. Nairobi: Oxford University Press. Bertoncini-Zubkova, Elena. 1995. “Zwei homonyme ka-Markierer”, in Gudrun Miehe and Wilhelm J. G. Moehlig (eds.), Swahili Handbuch. Cologne: Rudiger Koppe Verlag, pp.121–123. Biersteker, Ann. 2005. Masomo ya Kisasa: Contemporary Readings in Swahili. Trenton: Africa World Press. Carr, Philip. 1999. English Phonetics and Phonology. Oxford: Blackwell. CIA. 2013. The World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency. www.cia.gov/ library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html Contini-Morava, Ellen. 1994. Noun Classification in Swahili. Publications of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, University of Virginia. Research Reports, Second Series. www2.iath.virginia.edu/swahili/swahili.html Corbett, Greville. 1991. Gender. New York: Cambridge University Press. Ghassani, Mohamed. 2007. “Akili ya Mwendawazimu”. http://zanzibardaima.wordpress.com Goldman, Helle Valborg. 1996. “A comparative study of Swahili in two rural communities in Pemba, Zanzibar, Tanzania”. Ph.D. thesis, New York University. Guthrie, Malcolm. 1967–1971. Comparative Bantu. 4 vols. Farnborough: Gregg. Hinnebusch, Thomas and Sarah Mirza. 1997. Kiswahili: Msingi wa Kusema, Kusoma, na Kuandika. (2nd edn.). Washington: University Press of America. Ladefodged, Peter. 2005. A Course in Phonetics (5th edn.). Boston: Thomson Learning. www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/flash.html Marten, Lutz. 2000. “Agreement with conjoined noun phrases in Swahili”, in Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere 64, Swahili Forum 7, pp.75–96. McGrath, Donovan and Lutz Marten. 2012. Colloquial Swahili: The Complete Course for Beginners (2nd edn.). London/New York: Routledge. Mdee, James Salehe, Kimani Njogu, and Adam Shafi. 2011. Kamusi ya Karne ya 21. Nairobi: Longhorn. Mohamed, Mohamed A. 2001. Modern Swahili Grammar. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers Ltd. Mohamed, Mohamed A. 2011. Comprehensive Swahili–English Dictionary. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers Ltd. Mohamed, Khalfan and Abdulwahid Mazrui. 2007. Living Swahili: A Complete Course for Beginners. New York: Living Language. Moshi, Lioba. 1988a. Mazoezi ya Kiswahili: Kitabu cha Mazoezi kwa Wanafunzi wa Mwaka wa Kwanza. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

References

247

Moshi, Lioba. 1988b. Tuimarishe Kiswahili Chetu: Kitabu cha wanafunzi wa mwaka wa pili/tatu. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. Mpiranya, Fidèle. 1995. Swahili Phonology Reconsidered in a Diachronical Perspective. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. Mpiranya, Fidèle. 1998. Perspective fonctionnelle en linguistique comparée des langues bantu. CEL, Lyon; distributed by Editions Klincksieck, Paris. Muaka, Leonard and Angaluki Muaka. 2006. Tusome Kiswahili. Madison, WI: NALRC Press. Mugane, John M. 1999. Tujifunze Kiswahili: Let’s Learn Swahili. Athens, OH: Aramati Digital Technologies Publications. Nurse, Derek and Thomas J. Hinnebusch. 1993. Swahili and Sabaki: A Linguistic History. Berkeley: University of California Press. Nurse, Derek and Thomas Spear. 1985. The Swahili: Reconstructing the History and Language of an African Society, 800–1500. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Omar, Alwiya S. and Leonce K. Rushubirwa. 2007. Tuwasiliane kwa Kiswahili. Madison, WI: NARLC Press. Park, Jae-Ick. 1997. “Minimal word effects with special reference to Swahili”. Ph.D. thesis, Bloomington: Indiana University. Parker, C.A. 1974. “Aspects of a theory of proverbs: Contexts and messages of proverbs in Swahili.” Ph.D. thesis, University of Washington. Polomé, Edgar C. 1967. Swahili Language Handbook. Washington: Center for Applied Linguistics. Seidl, Amanda and Alexis Dimitriadis. 1997. “The discourse function of object marking in Swahili”, in Chicago Linguistic Society, 33, pp.373–389. Senkoro, Fikeni E.M.K. 2003. Tuseme Kiswahili: A Multidimensional Approach to the Teaching and Learning of Swahili as a Foreign Language. Madison, WI: NALRC Press. Thompson, Katrina and Antonia Schleicher. 2006. Swahili Learners’ Reference Grammar (2nd edn.). Madison, WI: NALRC Press. TUKI. 2000. English–Swahili Dictionary. University of Dar es Salaam: Taasisi ya Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili. TUKI. 2001. Kamusi ya Kiswahili–Kiingereza, Swahili–English Dictionary. University of Dar-esSalaam: Taasisi ya Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili. Whiteley, Wilfred Howell. 1969. Swahili: The Rise of a National Language. London: Methuen. Wilson, Peter M. 1970. Simplified Swahili. Nairobi: East African Literature.

Index

accent 17, 31–2, 34–5, 98, 135, 138, 151 adjectival 163–8 adjective: accent 17; agreement 19–21, 23–4, 26, 29–31, 35–6, 56, 61–8, 116, 122, 133, 219, 233; and verb tense/mood 41, 89, 103; comparison 107–8; derivation 57, 134, 145, 177–82, 187; broad sense 151, 153–6, 161, 163–6, 169–74 adverb 11, 32, 44, 68, 77, 89, 122, 189; comparison 107–8; broad sense 151–6, 161, 164–7 adverbial 151–9, 166–8 agreement: 15–17, 19–26, 29, 30, 37, 56–8, 61, 65–8, 81; 181, 188, 219; see also conjoined nouns; locative Ali, H.O. 48, 246 animacy, 22, 25 applicative 146–7, 163, 203–4, 212 Ashton, E.O. 1, 246 aspect 40, 98, 172 augment 33, 94–9, 129 augmentative 181–4, 189 auxiliary 32, 99, 101–5, 130, 194–5

36, 117–18, 121, 147, 163–6, 168; relative 70–2, 76–9; in subordinate clauses 87–8, 90, 127–31, 195, 198, 200 consecutive 44, 104, 192, 194–5, 200 contact see sound Contini-Morava, E. 26, 246 contrastive pronoun 13, 14, 17, 43, 70, 79, 80, 84, 121, 186 coordinated clauses 191–3 Corbett, G. 19, 246

BAKIZA 10, 67, 165, 246 Bantu 5, 14, 26, 44, 57, 114, 172 be 12, 50, 54, 76, 97 Bertoncini-Zubkova, E. 44, 246 Biersteker, A. 2, 246

furtive consonant 112, 136–8, 146, 175

Carr, P. 6, 7, 246 causative 133–7, 138, 139, 146–7, 212 CIA 3, 246 class see agreement clause connector 77, 220 color adjective 161, 165 comparison 57, 107–8, 114, 160, 229, 232 conditional 40, 45, 72, 77, 89, 95–6, 127–31, 151, 191, 195, 229–30 conjoined noun agreement 123, 125 conjunction: “and, with” 12, 76, 119, 122–3, 142; “as, like” 107, 108; “as well” 154; “by, with” 48, 110, 155, 157, 202, 205–8; coordination: 191–3; “of, for” 15, 25–6,

derivation: adverb 151–4, adjective 163, 164, 169, 170–2, 174, historical 66, 84; noun 26, 61–6, 177–8, 180–2, 229; pronoun 71; verb 45, 137–8 diminutive 181–4 Dimitriadis, A. 202, 247 disyllabic: 17, 31, 33, 65, 95, 112, 114, 136–8; minimality 10, 98–9 double object 146, 203–4, 206, 208–13 emphasis 14, 32, 34–5, 44–5, 80, 84, 154

Ghassani, M. 189, 246 Goldman, H.V. 4, 246 greetings 46, 54, 84, 96, 215 Guthrie, M. 5, 57, 114, 246 habitual 43, 96, 229–30 harmony 110, 133–4, 144, 146 have 12, 50, 54, 76, 116–17 Hinnebusch, T. 2, 5, 246–7 ideophone 161 idiomatic 59, 146, 156–8, 161, 189, 209–11 imperative 40, 47, 83–6, 90–1, 94–5, 97–8, 127, 193–4, 231 indicative: 46–7, 50, 54, 71–3, 77, 83–4, 151; main verb tenses 11, 40–5, 50, 73–5, 95; subordinate clauses 87, 88, 90–2, 127, 191–3, 198, 200, 229–30

Index 249 infinitive 10, 44–7, 53–4, 83, 104, 158–9, 179–81; conjunction/preposition 107–8, 123; noun class 57–8, 62; prefix retention 94–9; adjectival 163–4, 169; subordinate/ coordinated clauses 87–92, 191–3, 196–7, 199, 200, 225, 229, 232–3 interrogative 29, 32, 68, 77, 86, 104, 151, 154 intonation 32, 181 invariable 16, 23, 25–6, 57, 67–9, 170, 188–9 kinship term 15, 16, 25–6, 186–8, 219 Ladefodged, P. 5, 6, 35, 246 liaison 112, 135, 138, 143–4, 146, 171–2, 188 locative: agreement 64, 116–19, 121–3; preposition 52, 116, 120–3, 153, 177, 178; pronoun 52–4, 70, 74–6, 119–20, 130; suffix 17, 52, 53, 116–18, 121–3; verb “be” 50–2 Marten, L. 2, 125, 246 Mazrui, A. 2, 246 Mazrui, A.M. 2, 48, 246 McGrath, D. 2, 246 Mdee, J.S. 165, 246 merger 29, 61–2, 111–12, 134–5, 137–8, 170–1 Mirza, S. 2, 246 Mohamed, K. 2, 246 Mohamed, M.A. 1, 179, 246 monosyllabic: noun 20, 181–2; verb 50, 94–110, 113–14, 129, 143; adjective 65, 67 mood 11, 84 Moshi, L. 2, 246 Mpiranya, F. 63, 135, 171, 247 Muaka, A. 2, 247 Muaka, L. 2, 247 Mugane, J.M. 2, 247 negation: indicative 42, 43–6, 48, 50–1, 53, 229–30; infinitive 58; relative 73–5, 81, 154–68; subjunctive 84, 86; monosyllable 95–6; complex tenses 103–4; conditional 128–9, 132; coordinated clause 191–3 Njogu, K. 246 noun class 15, 19, 22–3, 26, 57, 116, 177 numeral 122, 156, 178–9 Nurse, D. 5, 247 object marker 14, 71–3, 119, 146, 202–5, 207–8 Omar, A. 2, 247

Park, J. 99, 247 Parker, C.A. 229, 247 passive 90, 110–15, 144, 147–8, 179, 212–13 phonetics, 5, 30, 35, 61, 71, 84, 98, 111, 172; see also pronunciation Polomé, E.C. 1, 6, 247 polysyllabic 67, 111–12, 114, 136–7 prefix: nominal 20, 21, 23, 29, 35, 65; pronominal 23, 29–31, 37, 51, 57, 71 preposition 121–3, 146, 200, 202, 204 pronoun: demonstrative 19, 20, 24, 29, 33–6, 71, 154, 202; object 13, 14, 17, 37, 48, 58, 72, 80, 83, 84, 94–6, 142, 148, 202; possessive 13, 15–17, 25, 26–7, 29, 31, 36, 72, 117–18, 121, 122, 164–5, 186–9, 202; reference 53, 70–1, 77–81, 116, 121, 142, 186; reflexive 58, 59; subject 7, 8, 10, 12–14, 17, 20, 23, 27, 42–4, 54, 95, 98 pronunciation 5, 6, 7, 14, 35, 61, 62, 65, 67, 188 proverb 75, 154, 188–9, 229 reciprocal 142, 143 reduced form 10, 14, 42, 54, 70–1, 79, 96, 98, 104, 121, 143, 187–8 relative clause 70–6, 78, 96, 97, 119, 154, 169, 229, 231 Rushubirwa, L.K. 2, 247 Schleicher, A. 1, 247 Seidl, A. 202, 247 semi-vowel 6, 20, 24, 61–3, 71, 99, 188 Senkoro, F.E.M.K. 2, 247 Shafi, A. 246 sound: change 29, 35; contact 30, 37–8, 63–4, 66, 97, 99, 120, 133, 135–6, 138, 171–2 Spear, T. 5, 247 stative 144–6, 148 subjunctive 40, 83–92, 97, 102, 104, 127, 151, 191–200, 231 subordinate clause 70, 78, 83, 87–91, 128, 131, 191, 193, 195, 196, 198–200 Thompson, K. 1, 247 TUKI 10, 165, 179, 184, 247 verb of state 43, 144, 210, 211 vowel: front 61, 111, 134–5, 137; non–front vowel 135, 144–5; rounded vowel 14, 61, 63–5, 71, 188 Whiteley, W.H. 5, 247 Wilson, P.M. 1, 247 word order 35, 36, 205

Taylor& Francis eBooks

eBooks from Taylor & Francis Helping you to choose the right eBooks for your Library

Add to your library's digital collection today with Taylor & Francis eBooks. We have over 50,0 00 eBooks in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Built Environm ent and Law, from leading imprints, including Routledge, Focal Press and Psychology Press.

Free Trials Available We offer free trials to qualifying academic, corporate and government customers.

Choose from a range of subject packages or create your own! Benefits for you ■ Free M ARC records ■ CO U N TER -com plian t usage statistics ■ Flexible purchase and pricing options ■ 7 0 % ap prox of our eBooks are now DRM -free. Benefits for your user ■ Off-site, anytim e access via Athens or referring URL ■ Print or cop y pages or chapters ■ Full con tent search ■ Bookm ark, hig hlig ht and annotate text ■ Access to thousands of pages of quality research at the click of a button.

eCollections

eFocus

Choose from 20 different subject eCollections, including:

We have 16 cutting-edge interdisciplinary collections, including:

Available Caring

D evelopm ent Studies The Environm ent

Health Studies

Islam

Law

Korea

M iddle East Studies

Urban Studies

For more information, pricing enquiries or to order a free trial, please contact your local sales team: UK/Rest of World: [email protected] USA/Canada/Latin America: [email protected] East/Southeast Asia: [email protected] India: [email protected]

I www.tandfebooks.com